The latest online betting UFC news has thrust the Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather money-fight into the back seat. This Monday, the UFC announced that it is stripping Germaine de Randamie of her featherweight title for refusing to accept a fight against Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino – who is the No. 1 ranked contender in that division.
Women’s Featherweight Online Betting UFC Conundrum
The women’s featherweight division may be the youngest the UFC currently has but it’s also the one causing the promotion the biggest headache. The UFC introduced the division at UFC 208 where Germaine de Randamie faced Holly Holm to claim the inaugural title for the women’s featherweight division.
Since then, the promotion was looking to schedule another title fight for the women’s featherweight belt. Apparently, the UFC was looking for de Randamie to defend her title against sportsbook favorite Cyborg, who is a ferocious fighter by any definition of the word, and de Randamie was unwilling to comply.
“UFC has informed Germaine de Randamie and her management team that she is being removed as the women’s featherweight champion due to her unwillingness to fight the No. 1 ranked contender, Cris ‘Cyborg’ Justino,” the promotion said in a public statement.
“UFC maintains that any champion is expected to accept fights against the top contenders in their respective weight classes in order to maintain the integrity of the sport.”
With de Randamie now belt-less, the fight between Cyborg and Megan Anderson – scheduled for UFC 214 next month, will be for the women’s featherweight title. Coincidentally, Cyborg had made online betting UFC headlines last month for her confrontation with another UFC fighter.
de Reaction from de Randamie
de Randamie’s run as a champion was short lived but she had a few things to say after the UFC stripped her of her belt. Here’s what the former champion had to say about the promotion’s decision.
“I had absolutely no idea that I was being stripped of the belt,” de Randamie told MMAFighting.com right after news first broke of the UFC’s decision. “I found out through social media. Cyborg is going to fight Megan for the belt. Nobody ever told me anything about it.”
Finding out that de Randamie had no idea what would happen if she turned down the fight is a little surprising. In all likelihood, de Randamie understood what would happen if she kept turning down fights but never imagined this type of reaction from denying a single fight.
Last month, de Randamie publically stated through her manager Brian Butler at Suckerpunch Entertainment that she would not face Cyborg inside the octagon due to Cyborg’s past history with performance-enhancing drugs.
In the past, Cyborg has tested positive for stanozolol – an anabolic steroid. While this may seem like a legitimate concern, USADA’s role in the UFC ensures that no fighter who steps inside the octagon is doping. de Randamie’s stance showed a blatant disrespect for USADA and the UFC could not promote that viewpoint.
Since the news broke, de Randamie has gone on social media to defend her stance, stating that her path is more important than what players who bet on MMA think of her.
In a profession where fans’ interest in your fights is directly tied to your income, that might not be the case.
