After the promotion cut a multitude of fighters earlier in the week, one more space on the UFC roster has now opened up after a surprise retirement announcement from a legendary former world champion.
Today is a sad day for MMA fans; former featherweight queen and future Hall of Famer Germaine de Randamie has announced that she’s hanging up the gloves for good – albeit with ‘mixed feelings’ after a frustrating end to negotiations with the UFC.
Former champion Germaine de Randamie retires after UFC offers stall
A few hours ago, former UFC champion and legendary kickboxing queen Germaine de Randamie announced that she has retired from MMA, albeit under a frustrating cloud after negotiations with the promotion fell through on her final fight.
“With so many mixed feelings I’m sharing this message with you guys,” de Randamie wrote on Instagram, sharing how “I definitely didn’t plan or envisioned/dreamed it this way but hey it is what it is sometimes.”
According to the former champion, she had been desperate to get one more fight in before the year’s out in order to properly say goodbye to the fans; however, the promotion told her that the remaining Fight Night cards simply didn’t have room for the ‘Iron Lady’.
“I begged the UFC for 1 more fight. But it had to be this year. I promised myself I would retire from fighting December 31st 2024… Unfortunately, the UFC told me all cards are fully booked. That’s why I decided that the time is now.
“I really wished I could have walked the walk one more time. But I guess it was not meant to be… To many people to thank personally so thank you all for being a part of my journey. Thank you for all the amazing memories. I’m forever grateful for all of them.”
De Randamie had been scheduled to compete at UFC Paris in September against Nora Cornolle, with the Dutch striker forced to withdraw from that bout with a broken finger and fracture in her ankle.
It’s a frustrating and bitterly disappointing end to a fabulous career, one that has seen the ‘Iron Lady’ competing in various combat sports in arenas around the world.
In truth, it won’t be long before De Randamie is inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame; not only was she the first official featherweight champion but she walks away with outstanding wins over the likes of Julianna Pena, Larissa Pacheco, Raquel Pennington, and Holly Holm.
“Like I always say ‘DIE WITH MEMORIES, NOT DREAMS,’” she signed off with, adding: “The Ironlady has left the building ushhh.”
Bloody Elbow wishes de Randamie a happy and healthy retirement.
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