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A post shared by Germaine de Randamie (@ironladymma)
Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Germaine de Randamie is hanging up her gloves.
In a statement posted on Instagram on Thursday, de Randamie (10-5) signaled her retirement from MMA. The inaugural UFC women’s featherweight queen stated that she hoped to take one more fight before calling it quits, but the schedule did not work out this year and she has decided to move on. The 40-year-old has competed once since 2020—including a lengthy layoff to give birth to a son—where she came up short to likely future title challenger Norma Dumont.
“Hey guys,” de Randamie wrote in a caption to her video statement. “With so many mixed feelings I’m sharing this message with you guys. I definitely didn’t plan or envisioned/dreamed it this way, but hey it is what it is sometimes. I begged the UFC for one more fight. But it had to be this year. I promised myself that I would retire from fighting December 31, 2024.”
She continued, “Unfortunately the UFC told me all cards are fully booked. That’s why I decided that the time is now. I really wished I could have walked the walk one more time. But I guess it was not meant to be. [Too] many people to think personally so thank you all for being a part of my journey. Thank you all for the amazing memories. I’m forever grateful for all of them. Like I always say, ‘Die with memories, not dreams.’ The Ironlady has left the building.”
In addition to serving as the first titleholder in the women’s featherweight bracket, the Dutchwoman who also serves as a police officer maintains a number of key victories over names like Julianna Pena, Holly Holm and Raquel Pennington. “The Iron Lady” battled all-time great Amanda Nunes on two separate occasions, and she came up short both times—with those two losses accounting for two of the three she sustained in the Octagon after over a decade on the roster. Prior to swimming in the seas of MMA, de Randamie established herself as a top kickboxer, celebrating a record of 46 wins with no defeats, and 30 knockouts on her ledger.
