Multi-time Muay Thai world champ Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie steps back into the UFC Octagon on June 14th at UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Dutch striking sensation faces Russian standout Milana Dudieva in a bantamweight bout.
UFC officials announced the matchup on Wednesday night. De Randamie had a two-fight winning streak snapped in her most recent bout when she was stopped by Amanda “Lioness” Nunes in November. Dudieva makes her long-awaited UFC debut after picking up a quick victory this past month.
De Randamie (4-3-0) concluded her three-fight stint with Strikeforce by posting an impressive decision victory over Hiroko “Cat’s Eye” Yamanaka in August 2012. Her performance was good enough to earn her a spot on the UFC roster this past year and she made the most of the opportunity by outpointing veteran contender Julie “Fireball” Kedzie at UFC on FOX 8. De Randamie’s most recent fight did not go her way, however, and she was overwhelmed by Nunes’s ground and pound en route to a first-round TKO defeat. She looks to get back on track when she faces Dudieva next month.
Dudieva (10-3-0) was expected to sign with the UFC in early 2013, but an upset loss to Jéssica “Bate Estaca” Andrade resulted in Andrade taking Dudieva’s spot on the roster. In her next fight, Dudieva suffered her second straight defeat when she was outpointed by unbeaten Swedish standout Pannie “Banzai” Kianzad. While her 2013 campaign was a disappointing one, Dudieva has rebounded nicely with back-to-back submission wins this year. She most recently finished late-replacement opponent Daria Chibisova with a heel hook at ProFC 53. Nine of her ten wins have come inside the distance.
UFC 174: “Johnson vs Bagautinov” takes place on June 14th at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event is headlined by a UFC Flyweight Championship bout between Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson and Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov.
(Photo Credit: UFC)
I would love to see Dudieva vs Rousey, and Germaine vs Miriam Nakamoto.
Germaine would destroy someone like Jessamyn Duke, IMO.
De Randamie has enormous potential but still has to put it all together in the cage. Hopefully she’ll finally break loose against Dudieva and score that sensational win we all know she has inside her. Unfortuately, it may be now or never for Germaine as another loss may just get her cut from the UFC. Only 6 weeks away, well enough time for a good training camp (and hopefully some needed groundwork for de Randamie).
She has to counter Dudieva’s judo throws. I am not sure if she dealt with that before.
I’d rather see Germaine vs Jessamyn Duke at this point. I know she would win this one for sure.
Dudieva vs Amanda Nunes would also be very interesting, IMO.