UFC 208: Holly Holm claims Germaine de Randamie's late punches were intentional

The former bantamweight champion also would love to get a rematch with the new titleholder

It was a weird fight to begin with, but Germaine de Randamie's action after the horn brought controversy to the first ever women's 145-pound title fight on Saturday.

Former women's bantamweight champ Holly Holm, competing at her natural weight for the first time in UFC, controlled much of the action in the fight by pressuring de Randamie to make a move. She consistently pressed de Randamie against the cage and kept her reach advantage at bay.

But after the second round horn sounded, de Randamie continued to throw punches, landing what many considered the best strike of the night that seemed to wobble Holm as she walked back to her corner. Despite complaints, the ref did not warn de Randamie or take a point.

Then in the third round, it happened again and de Randamie looked pleased with herself after it happened. With Holm's coach infuriated, the ref issued a warning to de Randamie. Holm believe's those actions were intentional.

"She hit hard shots," Holm said. "She hit hard shots after the bell, those are the hardest shots I felt the whole entire fight. A lot of times, the first one they give a warning, that's kind of normal. I wouldn't expect them to take a point after the first one, even though it was intentional. The second time, at that point you think they'd do something."

De Randamie apologized after the fight and said she got caught up in the moment, but Holm wasn't buying it.

"It wasn't like the last punch of a combination after the bell rang," Holm said. "It was intentional and it was after the bell. What can you do?"

De Randamie earned the unanimous decision 48-47 on all three judges scorecards, which leads many to believe the fight could have been scored a draw if the proper point had been taken away. Holm, now on a three-fight losing streak since beating Ronda Rousey in 2015, would love the chance at a rematch.

"I think it merits a rematch," Holm said. "When you have more than half the people saying the fight should go the other way, that warrants a rematch, so, that would be awesome."

While it may be appealing to Holm, I just don't know how many people will want to see that fight again. It was a grueling five-round matchup where there just wasn't a ton of action. Both fighters tried to keep their distance and avoid the big knockout blow. When they clinched, neither could make any progress.

If they do decide to do this again, the hope is that UFC pairs it up with one or maybe two other title fights like they did for UFC 205.