UFC 259: Amanda Nunes (c) vs. Megan Anderson
Amanda Nunes has smashed every opponent she has faced since 2014, with the exception of a pair of close fights with current flyweight champ Valentina Shevchenko. And “The Lioness” still won both of those.
Nunes’ rise to the pinnacle of the sport has been a thing of beauty. While MMA fans used to fall over themselves debating whether Ronda Rousey could compete with the men, it’s really Nunes who has staked her claim as the most fearsome female fighter in history. Bar none. Nunes has defeated anyone who might otherwise have a claim: names like Rousey, Miesha Tate, Holly Holm, and the formidable Cris Cyborg. When you become the first fighter to knock Cyborg out, capturing a second title in the process, you are at the top of the mountain.
Of course, in times like those there’s often nowhere to go but down. Nunes, however, managed to stay at the top by defeating Germaine de Randamie (at bantamweight) and Felicia Spencer (at featherweight) since her shock victory against Cyborg. Now, she’ll face Megan Anderson at 145lbs — and with all respect to the former Invicta FC champ, the chances of an upset are slim.
Anderson is an excellent fighter in her own right. But the questions posed by her height and reach advantage were already answered when Nunes fought de Randamie. And as much as “MMA math” is an illegitimate subject, Anderson’s losses to Holm and Spencer, both of which Nunes handled with ease, don’t exactly do wonders for her chances here. In reality, this is a fight happening because there are only four fighters in the UFC women’s featherweight division, and one of them hasn’t even made her debut yet.
Nunes has been as high as a -1250 favorite to win against Australia’s Anderson at UFC 259. If you’re a betting man (or woman) with some money to burn, put it on Anderson, because if she does pull off the upset, that’s where the real payoff will be. But we’re in Upset of the Year territory if that one happens.
Prediction: Nunes retains.
