New Fight Preview: UFC 250: Nunes vs Spencer

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FSM Preview – UFC 250: Nunes vs Spencer

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Make way for the women’s GOAT. UFC featherweight queen Amanda Nunes will grace the Octagon once again as she defends her 145 pound belt for the first time. The new challenge comes in the form of Felicia Spencer Saturday at UFC 250. 

 

Nunes ーthe only female double champion in UFC historyー claimed the featherweight belt in spectacular fashion after knocking out Cris “Cyborg” Justino in just 51 seconds at UFC 232 in December 2018. Since then, featherweight challengers have been lacking in the UFC, but Nunes has continued to hold down the fort in the bantamweight division where she also reigns champion. She had two successful defenses of her original crown last year, racking up a 1st round TKO against former bantamweight champion Holly Holm as well as a unanimous decision win over former featherweight champion Germaine de Randamie. 

Spencer is 2-1 since joining the UFC (8-1 overall) with her only career loss coming by unanimous decision at the hands of Cris “Cyborg” at UFC 240 last year. She bounced back earlier this year with a 1st round TKO of Zarah Fairn Dos Santos, earning her a shot at Nunes’ title. 

Even though Spencer is a sizable betting underdog at -450, she is a welcome challenge for Nunes’ title, as she is one of the only natural featherweights in the UFC ready for title contention. In her previous fights, she has shown to be a very physically imposing fighter, looking to storm forward so that her striking opens up her grappling game, where her jiu-jitsu prowess often leads to her snatching a submission victory. Although Nunes is a well-versed grappler herself, she will likely want to keep the fight at a distance and use her speed and movement to keep Spencer’s physicality to a minimum. 

 

Saturday’s co-main event will wrap up a trio of bantamweight fights on the main card.

 

Former champion Cody Garbrandt returns from a year-long layoff to face perennial top contender Raphael Assuncao. Garbrandt’s return has been a long time coming since he dropped three straight losses following an 11-0 start to his career, culminating with a championship win over Dominick Cruz. After his three-fight skid where he suffered knockout losses in each of them, there was speculation that Garbrandt would move down to the flyweight division; A recent shakeup at bantamweight could likely open a window for him to contend at 135 again.

That bantamweight shakeup is due to the sudden retirement of Henry Cejudo who defended his bantamweight title against Dominick Cruz last month and decided to hang up the gloves right after. This opened up the division for the next wave of bantamweights to contend for the belt and Saturday’s fight between Aljamain Sterling and Cory Sandhagen will likely produce a new #1 contender.

UFC president Dana White announced last week that a fight for the vacant bantamweight championship is in the works to feature Petr Yan against Jose Aldo. A title fight featuring one of Sterling or Sandhagen could have easily been made as well, which speaks volumes of the current depth at bantamweight. 

Sterling’s last outing against Pedro Munhoz at UFC 238 last year was a showcase fight for the “Funk Master“, who displayed a sensational striking arsenal en route to his fourth straight win. His unorthodox movement and speed have been constantly evolving in his last few fights, adding to his already dangerous grappling game.

This will make for an interesting showdown with Sandhagen, who is on a five-fight tear himself. Sandhagen has also displayed an affinity for unorthodox striking and grappling techniques as well as excellent distance management and a drive to push the pace in his fights. The constant pressure of Munhoz against Sterling last year is what forced Sterling to let his hands go, making for an action-packed fight. This new matchup could also turn out to be an exciting affair, especially given the stakes.  

 

In a break from the bantamweight action, welterweights Neil Magny and Anthony Rocco Martin will meet in the Octagon Saturday.

 

Magny last posted a unanimous decision win over Li Jingliang in March. The win was a solid comeback for Magny, who improved to 3-1 in his last four fights after suffering a knockout loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in Buenos Aires in November 2018. 

Martin is coming off a decision win over Ramazan Emeev late last year in a bounce back from a close decision loss to Demian Maia earlier in 2019. This will likely be a close matchup, pinning the classic striker versus grappler against each other. Magny looking to utilize his reach and length to keep the fight standing, and Martin hoping to close the distance and hunt for a submission. 

Saturday’s pay per view card will kick off with the first of the three featured bantamweight fights on the main card. Sean O’Malley will take on veteran Eddie Wineland who will easily be O’Malley’s most experienced opponent to date. 

O’Malley has been on an impressive run since joining the UFC after scoring a 1st round knockout on season 2 of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series. He has racked up three straight wins in the Octagon, with his most recent performance being a 1st round TKO of Jose Quiñones in March. 

This will undoubtedly be an exciting start to the main card with both fighters moving forward in what should be a striking-heavy matchup. O’Malley has stated recently that he hopes to fight for a title soon, but he will have to move past the heavy-handed Wineland push for a ranked opponent next. 

 

UFC 250 will be live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas this Saturday. The preliminary card will kick off at 3:00 pm PDT on ESPN+ followed by the pay per view portion at 7:00 pm PDT.

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Leo Schauer 

@schauerleo

 

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