VIDEO: When UFC star Germaine de Randamie knocked out Tom Waes, a man 40 pounds heavier than her
Germaine de Randamie is among the most popular female MMA fighters and is widely known for being the first UFC women's featherweight champion. She also has an impressive kickboxing resume and has won several world championships with a perfect 46-0 record.
After a hiatus of over three years, 'The Iron Lady' is set to make her highly anticipated return to action against Norma Dumont in a women's bantamweight contest at UFC Vegas 90 this weekend. With her next fight around the corner, it's worth mentioning that she once knocked out a man 40 pounds heavier than her.
In Oct. 2007, the Dutchwoman took part in a reality show called 'Tomtesterom' that featured Belgian actor Tom Waes. Waes was known to take on a variety of challenges and trained like a professional boxer to fight de Randamie in one episode. The fight took place at Slamm!!: One Night In Bangkok.
While Waes started the fight strong and applied heavy pressure early on, he couldn't handle de Randamie's speed and accuracy. After two rounds, the actor got sloppy and ate a short right hook that sent him crashing to the canvas. 'The Iron Lady' won the fight via third-round knockout.
Watch the full video below:
When Germaine de Randamie addressed knocking out a heavier man before Holly Holm fight at UFC 208
Germaine de Randamie was booked to face Holly Holm for the inaugural featherweight championship at UFC 208 in Feb. 2017. Given Holm's incredible resume and striking prowess, many expected her to push de Randamie to her limits. However, the Dutchwoman was confident about winning thanks to her experience fighting a man 40 pounds heavier than her.
During a UFC 208 media scrum, de Randamie opened up about fighting an opponent as decorated as Holm and pointed out that if she could beat a man, she undoubtedly stood a solid chance to win her next fight. She said:
"Every fight is the toughest fight of my career. I respect Holly. She’s a tremendous athlete. To me it’s such an honor. But I’m ready. If I fought men, I can fight Holly...[He had] 40 pounds [on me]. It was pro boxing, it is what it is."
She continued:
"They offered me the fight; he had three pro fights, it was for TV, and I’m like, let’s do it. He hit me hard. The first thing I thought when I hit him was damn, better keep my hand up. But he went down, I knocked him out." [H/T MMAFighting.com]
'The Iron Lady' ultimately defeated Holm via unanimous decision after three rounds to win the featherweight title.