The sound of the horn echoed throughout the Barclays Center. It was the second time that the state of New York had hosted a UFC event and history had just unfolded in the evening’s featured attraction. Bruce Buffer began to read the scorecards.
“All three judges score the bout 48-47 …” The fans and fighters gazed into the Octagon anticipating the result. “For your winner, and new UFC women’s featherweight champion … Germaine ‘The Iron Lady’ de Randamie!”
UFC 208 had officially belonged to the Netherlands’ favorite fighting daughter. But what would be a great moment for her and her homeland was soured in the eyes of the public – mid-fight as well as post-fight.
21 years ago, a 200-plus pound 14-year old Germaine de Randamie discovered combat sports thanks to a friend. From there, she would go onto become a multi-time world champion in kickboxing and establish herself as one of the greatest strikers in Mixed Martial Arts.
Prior to that, sports were already a big part of her life as more often than not she could be found out on the Dutch soccer fields scoring goals aplenty.
“I played soccer, very high level, I was in the selection team of the Netherlands,” de Randamie shared with FanSided. “I played soccer for a long time and I really enjoyed it. And one day I woke up and I looked at my mom and was like, ‘I’m done playing soccer.’ She’s like, ‘Okay, well, that’s fine. If you’re done with it, you’re done with it.’ And a friend of mine, he was doing kickboxing at the time. He asked me, and I was a very heavy girl, I was pretty heavy. I think I was walking around at almost 205 [pounds], yeah. I was heavy. I was a big girl – at the time.
“Then that friend of mine who was kickboxing was like, ‘You want to come with me one time?’ I’m like, okay, I’ll do that. And then I was training for two months and then the coach said, ‘You want to do a fight?’ I’m like, okay, let’s try it. I never ever had intention to become a world champion. Never ever. Honestly, one thing just led to another, and it all played out, right now being here,” she laughed, “It’s been a crazy journey.”
Continued: Tales of the ‘Iron Lady,’ who is the real Germaine de Randamie?
