Muay Thai sensation Germaine “The Iron Lady” de Randamie looks to continue her streak of impressive stoppage wins when she returns to action on September 3rd at UFC Fight Night 93: “Arlovski vs Barnett” in Hamburg, Germany. De Randamie is set to battle Ashlee Evans-Smith on the card.
UFC officials announced the bantamweight bout on Friday. De Randamie is coming off of a dominant first-round finish of Anna “Panda” Elmose at UFC Fight Night 87 in May. Evans-Smith eked out a controversial Split Decision win over Marion “The Belizean Bruiser” Reneau at UFC Fight Night 83.
De Randamie (6-3-0) has showcased her elite striking skills in each of her three UFC victories. After suffering a disappointing setback against current UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Amanda “Lioness” Nunes in late 2013, de Randamie took time off and came back refocused in her one-sided TKO triumph over Larissa Moreira Pacheco at UFC 185. In May, the Dutch star thrilled fans in her home country by destroying Elmose in quick and devastating fashion, and a victory in September would elevate de Randamie into contender status in the ever-changing 135-pound division.
Evans-Smith (4-1-0) has endured ups and downs in her short UFC career. Her promotional debut ended in a technical submission loss at UFC 181, and she was subsequently fined and suspended for nine months after testing positive for a banned diuretic. In February, she stepped back into the cage and engaged in a back-and-forth bout with Reneau. While Evans-Smith did rally late in the fight, Reneau appeared to have won the first two rounds. Two judges disagreed, however, and awarded a contentious decision win to Evans-Smith, who now faces one of her toughest tests to date.
UFC Fight Night 93: “Arlovski vs Barnett” takes place on September 3rd at Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany. The event is headlined by a heavyweight bout between Andrei “The Pitbull” Arlovski and Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett, and also features a women’s strawweight bout between Michelle “The Karate Hottie” Waterson and Aisling “Ais The Bash” Daly.
(Photo Credit: UFC)