MMA Fighter Focus: “The Iron Lady” Germaine De Randamie
Of all the fighters who are stepping into the cage this Saturday at Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman, Germaine De Randamie has the least experience in mixed martial arts, with a record of 2-2.
Despite only having four fights on her record, de Randamie will once again walk into the Strikeforce cage after a 17 month absence from MMA, taking on Hiroko Yamanaka, who is coming of off her fight against former Strikeforce women’s champ, Cristaine “Cyborg” Santos.
While her MMA career is just getting started, de Randamie, known as “The Iron Lady” is a multiple-time Muay Thai champion with an undefeated record of 46-0, according to her Strikeforce.com profile. The Utrecht, Holland native began training in Muay Thai at the age of 15 as a way to lose weight.
My trainer asked me after two months if I wanted to fight. I said ‘yeah,’ and fell in love with the sport! After that my only goal was to become the best!
De Randamie’s first kickboxing fight was in May 2000 and from there would she would be a force with 30 of her 46 wins coming by way of knockout. After becoming burned out from kickboxing, De Randamie would be one of many fighters to transition from kickboxing to mixed martial arts.
The Iron Lady made her professional MMA debut in December 2008 against Vanessa Porto. Porto won the fight by submission via armbar three and a half minutes into the first round.
According to De Randamie, the loss to Porto made her stronger both mentally and physically. It also changed her focus on how to go about fighting in MMA.
When I lost that fight, it made me realize that it’s all about having fun. And that made me the fighter I [am] today.
In an interview with MMAweekly, De Randamie took some time away from active competition. During this time she began training with members of the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team and Ceaser Gracie, who has trained several notable fighters.
De Randamie made her return to MMA in Sepember 2010, where she defeated Nikhol Johnson by decision.
De Randamie’s next fight would bring her to Strikeforce where she made her debut at Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Cyborg. In the same night where then Strikeforce Welterweight champion Nick Diaz retained his title against Evangelisa Santos, De Randamie defeated Stephanie Webber by TKO in the first round.
The Iron Lady’s next bout would be against former rival Julia Budd at Strikeforce Challengers 16. Although De Randamie scored a first-round victory against Budd in a kickboxing match back in 2008, Budd would avenge the loss by defeating De Randamie by decision.
Although she is proficient in striking, De Randamie said she has a lot of to learn when it comes to grappling and takedown defense.
Her fight with Yamanaka will take place on the preliminary card of Strikeforce: Rousey vs. Kaufman.
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