Holly Holm officially appeals UFC 208 loss due to punches landed after horn

Holly Holm isn’t ready to forget about Saturday night just yet.

Holm, who lost a controversial unanimous decision to Germaine de Randamie in the UFC’s inaugural women’s featherweight title fight this past weekend in Brooklyn, N.Y., has officially filled a complaint against referee Todd Anderson and an appeal of the result, MMA Fighting confirmed.

Holm, via her attorneys Paul Bardacke and Breanna Houghton, is asking the New York State Athletic Commission to review Anderson’s “failure to deduct one or more points from Germaine de Randamie following her repeated strikes thrown after the horn sounded to end Rounds 2 and 3.”

Anderson failed to separate Holm and de Randamie in a timely manner after the horn sounded in both the second and third rounds in the UFC 208 main event, leading to de Randamie landing three punches (two after the second and one after the third) after the rounds’ conclusion. The punches landed after the second round, in particularly, seemed to have hurt Holm immediately.

“We respectfully request the commission review referee Anderson’s failure to assess a foul and render a decision regarding a point deduction following Round 2, and failure to assess a foul and a point deduction following Round 3, and determine an appropriate result,” the complaint stated.

“It was blatant,” Holm’s agent Lenny Fresquez said. “Very blatant.”

When reached about the situation, a representative for the New York State Athletic Commission issued the following statement to MMA Fighting: “As of this time, the Commission has not yet received an appeal from the Holm camp. It will be properly considered when, and if, received.”

Fresquez said Holm is currently focused on an immediate rematch with de Randamie right now, and de Randamie recently posted on her Instagram account that she would like to fight her again.

“I hope Germaine is a lady of her word and gives Holly the immediate rematch she promised her,” Fresquez said.

Veteran referee Rob Hinds explained to MMA Fighting earlier this week why Anderson failing to step in at the end of the round was problematic.

“When the bell sounds, whenever that happens that’s just our indication to stop the round,” said Hinds, who is an Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports (ABC) certified trainer of referees and judges. “That’s not the signal for the exact end of the round. We need to make sure we’re in position and everything is in place to stop the action as close to that horn as possible.”

The loss marked Holm’s third in a row, marking the first time in her illustrious combat sports career that she has every lost three straight fights.