“This is not how I dreamed about it…” is what the ‘Iron Lady’ of MMA said in her video appearance on Instagram. Former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie just came clean about what happened to her recently and was visibly disappointed. She is regarded as one of the best strikers in MMA history, and she had to make a hard decision that was more painful than a punch inside the octagon.

She had to announce her retirement despite all her excellent accomplishments. The fighter with 35 professional fights had requested just one thing from UFC and Dana White but was denied that wish. The former world champion had just recovered from an injury and wanted one more fight this year to say goodbye to her fans properly. But she was denied that because there were no more spots left for a fight.

“Hey guys, With so many mixed feelings I’m sharing this message with you guys. I definitely didn’t plan or envisioned/dreamed it this way but hey it is what it is sometimes. I begged the UFC for 1 more fight. But it had to be this year. I promised myself I would retire from fighting on December 31st, 2024. Unfortunately, the UFC told me all cards are fully booked,” she said in her Instagram update.

De Randamie had been scheduled to compete at UFC Paris in September against Nora Cornolle, but the Dutch striker was forced to retreat from that bout with a broken finger and fracture in her ankle. The first official featherweight champ was unfortunately forced to hang her gloves up with a marvelous resume to call her legacy. “DIE WITH MEMORIES NOT DREAMS, ” she signed off concluding, “The Ironlady has left the building.” This is also not the first injury that forced her to withdraw from a fight.

Germaine de Randamie’s history with injuries and withdrawals

She was scheduled to fight Nora Cornolle in a women’s bantamweight fight at  UFC Paris on September 28th. However, The ‘Iron Lady’ had announced that she was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a series of injuries.  She even kept her fans updated about the whole ordeal and said on Instagram, “I’m so heartbroken to inform you that I had to pull out of my fight September 28th in Paris. Two weeks ago in training, I broke my finger and fractured my foot. The doctors told me I couldn’t train for at least 3 weeks.”

The accomplished kickboxer had beaten veterans like Holly Holm in her career but this time she could not win against the injury. GDR faced a similar situation while fighting against Irene  Aldana when she was forced to withdraw due to an injury like this. She had a mystery injury that was not disclosed and could not participate in the fight at UFC 268. Little did she know that the fight against Cornolle would be her last chance.

Unfortunately with a heavy heart, she had to announce through social media about her decision to hang her gloves. Do you think this was the right decision for her? Should she have stuck around for a last dance? Tell us in the comments below.