Everyone that steps into the Octagon does so for their own reasons, but next Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, headliners Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie will enter the UFC’s eight-sided proving ground with the same motivations carrying them into battle.
The decorated combat sports veterans will close out the organization’s debut event at the home of the Brooklyn Nets in a fight to crown the inaugural women’s featherweight champion, but chasing gold isn’t the lone shared push propelling the pending opponents into the fray next weekend.
“I think if I win, that will solidify my career,” said de Randamie, who amassed multiple titles and a sterling 37-0 record as a kickboxer before transitioning to mixed martial arts.