Germaine de Randamie won the UFC women’s featherweight title at UFC 208, becoming the inaugural champion after taking a controversial decision over former bantamweight title holder, Holly Holm. But after winning the belt, de Randamie refused to face number one contender Cris Cyborg, stating that Cyborg “is a known and proven cheater.” That decision came back upon her on Monday when the UFC officially stripped de Randamie of her title.
The UFC’s statement on the stripping declared that “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,”and some fans were quick to argue that those parameters haven’t been met by UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping.