Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
Germaine de Randamie is best known as a knockout artist but it turns out she’s got some slick submissions in her arsenal as well.
In her first fight back after falling to bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes in 2019, De Randamie finished Julianna Pena with a nasty guillotine choke in their featured bantamweight matchup at UFC Fight Island 4.
The official time was 3:25 in the third round as de Randamie put Pena to sleep to earn the first submission win of her career.
“I tell everybody if you give me your neck, I’ll put you to sleep,” de Randamie said before turning her attention to Nunes.
“I can only say still the No. 1 [contender]. Hold that belt, champ. Congratulations with your beautiful family. But I’m not done. ‘The Iron Lady’ is here.”
Not just a striker @IronLadyMMA #UFCFightIsland4 live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/kxea3rHfIf
— UFC (@ufc) October 4, 2020
She finished the fight on the ground but de Randamie opened the fight with her signature striking by establishing a jab and keeping Pena at a distance to prevent the takedown. When Pena finally looked to get inside, de Randamie made her pay with a powerful right hand that dropped the former Ultimate Fighter winner to a knee.
Pena recovered quickly as she got back to her feet but that same right hand continued to give her problems whenever de Randamie launched a shot over her shoulder during an exchange.
Knowing that she lost the opening round, Pena came out firing after being released from her corner and she immediately cracked de Randamie with a hard punch as she got into the clinch while working for the takedown. Pena refused to give up until she finally dragged de Randamie to the ground while looking to employ her grappling game.
Pena looked for punches and elbows from the top as she maintained control to ensure de Randamie couldn’t get back to her feet. With time running out, Pena made an attempt to latch onto a guillotine choke but it almost backfired after de Randamie rolled her over and nearly set up a Von Flue choke just before the horn sounded.
A back-and-forth fight led to the final round with Pena once again seeking the takedown and de Randamie attempting to employ her striking arsenal. Pena eventually worked her way back to the clinch as she sought to bring the fight back to the ground but this time de Randamie was ready for her.
The former featherweight champion grabbed onto a guillotine choke before falling to her back as she locked up the submission. A few seconds later, Pena was motionless after being choked unconscious by de Randamie.
The victory will undoubtedly secure de Randamie’s place atop the contender’s race in the bantamweight division as she will seek to eventually earn a rematch with Nunes after going five rounds with the champion in their most recent meeting.