Germaine De Randamie says she deserves more respect after offering a reminder of her title credentials with an impressive victory against Julianna Pena at UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
The former featherweight champion, currently the No 1-ranked contender at bantamweight, clinched the win at Flash Forum via a guillotine choke in the third round – her first submission in the UFC. It earned a Performance of the Night bonus.
De Ramdamie, who serves as a policewoman in her native Netherlands, is a 10-time world kickboxing champion and moves now to 10-4 in professional mixed martial arts (7-2 UFC).
However, despite her CV, De Ramdamie featured third last on Sunday's card in the capital, with Holly Holm and Irene Aldana – the No 2- and No 6-ranked challengers respectively at bantamweight – headlining.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, De Ramdamie said: “I honestly believe I’m not getting the respect I believe I deserve. I made history a lot of times in my career and I really did not get the respect.
“I’ve seen in the past that if you’re being a jerk you get respect here in the UFC. I don’t want to be a jerk; I want to stay true to myself. But I believe I deserve a little bit more respect for all I have done in my career.
“I’m 36 years old, I have a full-time job, I train besides being a police officer. It’s not easy. I’m getting older and it’s not easy. But I still do it so I deserve a little bit more credit for that.”
The first featherweight champion in UFC history, De Randamie looks well placed for either a third match-up with Amanda Nunes – they met most recently in December, where the Brazilian won for a second time – or a rematch with Holm, who defeated Aldana comfortably on points on Sunday.
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UFC Fight Night in pictures
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Holly Holm (R) punches Irene Aldana of Mexico in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night 4 event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Irene Aldana (R) of Mexico punches Holly Holm in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Holly Holm (L) takes down Irene Aldana of Mexico in their bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Holly Holm celebrates after defeating Irene Aldana. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Carlos Felipe (L) of Brazil punches Yorgan De Castro of Cape Verde. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Carlos Felipe (L) of Brazil punches Yorgan De Castro of Cape Verde in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Yorgan De Castro (R) of Cape Verde punches Carlos Felipe of Brazil in their heavyweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Carlos Felipe (R) of Brazil reacts after defeating Yorgan De Castro of Cape Verde in their heavyweight bout. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Germaine de Randemie (R) of The Netherlands punches Julianna Pena in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Julianna Pena (R) punches Germaine de Randemie of The Netherlands in their women's bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Germaine de Randemie (R) submits Julianna Pena in their bantamweight bout during UFC Fight Night event at Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Germaine de Randemie celebrates after defeating Julianna Pena. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Kyler Phillips (R) kicks Cameron Else of England in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Cameron Else of England punches Kyler Phillips in their bantamweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Kyler Phillips (L) takes down Cameron Else of England in their bantamweight bout. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Referee Marc Goddard signals the fight finished as Kyler Phillips defeats Cameron Else. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Dusko Todorovic (L) of Serbia punches Dequan Townsend in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Dequan Townsend (L) punches Dusko Todorovic of Serbia in their middleweight bout during the UFC Fight Night event inside Flash Forum on UFC Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Dusko Todorovic (L) of Serbia punches Dequan Townsend in their middleweight bout. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC -
Dusko Todorovic (R) of Serbia reacts after defeating Dequan Townsend in their middleweight bout. Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
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De Ramdamie and Holm clashed for the featherweight crown in 2017, with the former earning a controversial decision win.
Asked what it would take to get another shot at Nunes, the two-division champion, De Randamie said: “Honesty I really don’t know, and honestly I couldn’t care less.
"Don’t get me wrong, I just love to fight. And whoever I have to face, I face. I just want to put up the entertaining fights; no boring fights. Give me an entertaining fight, even if it’s a title shot or not. Because I’m here as an entertainer.
“Do you know how many belts I have? They get dust on them. I have to clean that [stuff], seriously. It would be cool, because I will be opening my own gym in January with my coach, so that new belt would sit fine in the new gym. We have a nice spot for it.”
