The Athletes Hub UFC 208 Preview

On February 11th, Former UFC Bantamweight Champion Holly Holm (10-2) will look to become the first female fighter to hold two world championships in two different weight divisions in the UFC. However, she will not do it without working for it, as her opponent, Germaine De Randamie (6-3), is no pushover. 

Not only will Holm look to be the fourth overall fighter to hold two belts in two separate weight divisions (she would join Conor McGregor, BJ Penn and Randy Couture), the UFC Womens World Featherweight Championship will be crowned on its inaugural champion on Saturday night. 

Everyone knows Holly Holm is the woman who headkicked Ronda Rousey, being the first person to beat a woman who looked unstoppable. Germaine De Randamie is a mystery to most however, as while she’s an excellent Maui Thai fighter, her MMA record of six wins and three losses is nothing special, especially compared to Holly Holm’s ten wins and two losses.

This fight is special because it will be the first time we get to see two women fighters fight without the drain of a weight cut as they move up from the 135 division to the 145 division, a division that many claim, was meant for UFC Fighter, Cris Cyborg (17-1) who is currently on the shelf due to doping and being flagged by USADA. 

It’s assumed that the winner of this fight between Holm and De Randamie will set up a fight with either current UFC Womens Bantamweight Champion Amanda Nunes, who wants to replicate what Conor McGregor achieved recently at UFC 205, or a returning Cris Cyborg once her suspension is up. 

However, if Cyborg’s suspension is lengthy, we could see some interesting fights as Bantamweights choose to move up to fight without the devastating weight cut. Could we even see Ronda Rousey in this division? Who knows.

A lot of experts claim that this fight will be a stand-up war, as both women are efficient in kickboxing and Maui Thai respectively. However, many do not contribute to the fact that if a fighter is losing on their feet,  they take it to the ground.

Holly Holm has showed time and time again she can resist a takedown with her excellent defense and she can clinch with the best of them. She even took Ronda Rousey down in their fight at UFC 193. 

De Randamie however is once again mysterious in this aspect, as she rarely ever gets attempted to be taken down, so if this fight goes to the ground, Holm might just have the edge. Get ready for a war ladies and gentlemen, cause these two ladies are going to come out swinging for 5 rounds on Saturday night.

Prediction: Holly Holm via 3rd Round TKO.

When you think of the greatest MMA fighter of all time, there is only a handful of names you can throw around. One of these names is Anderson Silva (33-8, 1NC). This is the man that will stand across from Derek Brunson (16-4) on February 11th in the Co-Main Event of UFC 208. 

Anderson Silva held the World Middleweight Championship for 2,457 days in the longest single title reign in the UFC ever with 16 consecutive wins (some at Light Heavyweight including a notable KO win over Forrest Griffin) and 10 defenses. His striking is considered to be the best striking in the UFC’s history. 

Derek Brunson however is not to be taken lightly by the legend. Brunson has lightning quick hands and is coming off a Fight Of The Night loss to Robert Whittaker. Prior to that loss however, Brunson had been on a 5 fight win streak holding victories over Uriah Hall, Lorenz Larkin and Sam Alvey.

A win for either fighter would surely put them into contention to fight the winner of current champion, Michael Bisping and Yoel Romero. What’s interesting is that both fighters have history with the two men, with Michael Bisping earning a controversial decision victory over ‘The Spider’ in London last year. 

Brunson however has also fought Yoel Romero and KO’d in devastating fashion in the 3rd round. This is sure to be a three-round striking masterpiece, as both men are coming off losses and look to put themselves into title contention, tune into UFC 208 to see who will get that all important victory.

Prediction: Silva via Unanimous Decision.

Want to check out partners of The Athletes Hub? Subscribe to Gary Hardwick and his wife, Almeda, as they take you through their journey of marriage!

https://www.youtube.com/garyandalmedahardwicksvlogs