The UFC will crown its inaugural women’s featherweight champion at the main event of UFC 208 on February 11th, 2017 at the Barclays Center in New York.

No Cyborg

After much thought and discussion, the UFC finally decided to create a 145-pound weight class for women. But surprisingly, the woman universally recognized as the best 145-pound fighter in the galaxy won’t be vying for the title.

Invicta FC featherweight Cris Cyborg is considered as the baddest woman on the planet. But Cyborg has been forced to fight at a catchweight of 140 pounds during her first two UFC bouts because the promotion doesn’t have a featherweight division. When the UFC finally created the division, Cyborg turned down the fight because she is still recovering from the brutal weight cut from her previous bout. With Cyborg out, the UFC decided it would be Holly Holm against Germaine De Randamie.

The Preacher’s Daughter

Holly Holm rose to superstardom when she upset Ronda Rousey at UFC 193 over a year ago. But just as the Preacher’s Daughter reached the top of the mountain, she fell off just as quickly. Holm immediately yielded the title to Miesha Tate in her first title defense at UFC 200. Then Holm lost again to top ranked bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko at UFC on Fox 20 last July of 2016.

Holm has fought at 135 pounds throughout her MMA career but the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion fought between 132-152 pounds as a world champion professional boxer. So, it’s still a weight that Holly Holm isn’t a stranger to.

Randamie is a former kickboxer and Strikeforce standout. The 32-year old Dutch is 4-1 in her last four bouts and is coming off a ‘Performance of the Night’ award against Anna Elmose. Randamie lost to current UFC women’s bantamweight queen Amanda Nunes in 2013 but has won two in a row, both by KO since. She has fought twice as a featherweight in her MMA career but has been a bantamweight since 2013. She will be making her first ever title fight appearance in any promotion.

The Odds

Randamie and Holm both opened at -115 apiece. But the lines have slightly moved to Randamie’s direction at -130 versus even money for Holm in recent days. This one’s an intriguing fight between two elite strikers who excel in different disciplines. Ranamie is a world class Muay Thai kickboxer who is excellent in the clinch and uses her length to dictate her fights. On the other hand, Holm is a former world champion professional boxer who uses her incomparable punching skills to dominate her opponents. Randamie has the better all around skills but this is really a pick ‘em. We’re going with even money and picking Holly Holm to beat Germaine De Randamie.