Photo by Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC
After defending her Bantamweight strap against Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245 last weekend (Dec. 14, 2019), Amanda Nunes stated that defending her Featherweight strap was next on her list.
And she could soon find out who her opponent will be, as the promotion has added a couple of women’s 145-pound showdowns to the upcoming Fight Night 169 event in Norfolk, Virginia, scheduled to go down on Feb. 29, 2020.
According to MMA Fighting, former Invicta FC Featherweight champion Megan Anderson will face off against Octagon newcomer, Norma Dumont. Megan was last seen beating Zarah Fairn Dos Santos at UFC 243, bringing her UFC record to an even 2—2. Dumont, meanwhile, is 4-0 in her young combat career, fighting in her home country of Brazil her entire career.
Also, Felicia Spencer returns to face the aforementioned Dos Santos on the ESPN+-streamed event, according to BJPenn.com. Spencer is coming off a tough loss to former 145-pound champion, Cris Cyborg, at UFC 240. Despite the loss, Spencer endeared herself to fight fans after taking several of Cris’s heavy bombs and refusing to wilt (highlights).
Prior to the defeat, Spencer scored a huge win in her Octagon debut by choking out Megan Anderson in the very first round.
With the women’s Featherweight division still not having as much depth as Dana White and Co. would have liked, either one of the winners of these matchups could set themselves up nicely for a title fight against Nunes. That said, that dangling carrot could provide the motivation for all of them to be at the top of their game come fight night.