Norfolk, VA — If there was one takeaway from the UFC Norfolk main card, it’s that women’s featherweight has some life left in it yet. Perhaps even more than the men’s featherweight division. On a night that was something of a disaster for the men’s 125lb’ers, the equally maligned 145lb women put on a pair of strong showings. One of those came care of Canada’s Felicia Spencer.
Spencer (8-1) finished opponent Zarah Fairn in the opening round, taking her to the canvas and pounding her out. With Amanda Nunes, both bantamweight and featherweight champ, looking on from afar, it was a statement win.
Facing the media (including Cageside Press) post-fight, Spencer was asked to state her case for a title shot. Her response was to turn that question back around. “I mean, what does everybody think?” she questioned those present.
To be fair, Spencer didn’t get to see the performance Australia’s Megan Anderson put on earlier in the night. Also a first round finish. “I heard it was great,” she said. “But I think I put myself in a great position to get a shot. So now I just need to have a conversation with the UFC.”
Realistically, Spencer later added, “it all comes down to that conversation. We’ll have it, I’m guessing really soon.”
Nunes suggested on Twitter after the fights that she was impressed by both fighters. But Spencer has a win over Anderson from last year, which could be the deciding factor.
There’s a possibility that, were the fight to go forward, it will come at UFC 250 in Brazil. Whether Spencer is ready for that is another conversation, with her team. But the possibility of fighting Nunes, she said, is “kind of exciting. The idea of potentially fighting two legends within a year would be awesome, it would be an honor. Within my first year inside the UFC, being able to fight Cris Cyborg and Amanda Nunes. That chance is awesome. I’m really excited.”
Nunes, however, is on a ten fight win streak. Which equals the total number of fights Spencer has as a pro. Asked how she matches up with the champ, Spencer replied that “I think I match up great. Everyone is beatable. And I think there’s some things I can show, and some clever things I can do to get a win.”
Overall, she added backstage, UFC Norfolk’s featherweight pairings “turned out the way a lot of people kind of expected, and I could definitely see myself getting that shot. I think I earned it.”
Watch the full UFC Norfolk post-fight press scrum with Felicia Spencer above!
