Two division UFC champion Amanda Nunes will defend her featherweight title opposite top contender Megan Anderson at the upcoming UFC 259 event on Sat., March 6, 2021. First reported by ESPN
The featherweight title fight between Amanda Nunes and Megan Anderson has been rebooked for March 6, UFC officials told @bokamotoESPN. pic.twitter.com/uhNHbZifHd
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) December 21, 2020
On Monday, UFC officials announced through broadcast partner ESPN that Anderson will challenge dual champion Amanda Nunes for the women’s featherweight title on March 6 at UFC 259 in a rebooking of a fight that had been scheduled for earlier this year. The UFC is hard-pressed to find challengers for Amanda Nunes as she has run through almost all the big names in the company. The struggles are greater to do so in the featherweight division, where the UFC does not have ranked competitors.
Amanda Nunes vs Megan Anderson scheduled for the second time
Anderson (11-4 MMA, 3-2 UFC) was set to take on Nunes (20-4 MMA, 13-1 UFC), who’s also bantamweight champion, for the 145-pound title on Dec. 12 at UFC 256, but the fight fell off after Nunes withdrew in early November because of injury. The Australian fighter holds a 3-2 record at featherweight in the UFC and all three wins have come via first-round finishes.
Following her last win in February via a power-packed punch, Anderson staked a claim for the belt. However, at the same event, Felicia Spencer too claimed a win. In her favour, she holds a previous win over Anderson. Amanda Nunes expressed her admiration for both but Spencer proved to be better getting the first crack at the belt. This also marked ‘The Lioness’ maiden 145 lbs defense. Nunes, as usual, was dominant the entire fight finally getting the win.
Anderson, a former Invicta FC featherweight titleholder, has had her ups and downs since joining the UFC in 2018. She lost her promotional debut to former bantamweight champ Holly Holm but picked up a TKO win over Zingano in December 2018 after an accidental eye poke.
After that win, Anderson fought fellow ex-Invicta champ Spencer and was submitted in the first round. Spencer went on to a title shot with Nunes from that win. But in October 2019, Anderson bounced back with the submission of Zarah Fairn at UFC 243, and this past February she knocked out Norma Dumont for her first UFC winning streak.
The ‘Lioness’ is riding an 11-fight winning streak that dates back nearly six years. She’s been on a tear since the lone loss of her UFC career to Cat Zingano in September 2014. She won the women’s bantamweight title at UFC 200 in July 2016 and has defended it five times.
Besides, she ran through Cris Cyborg in just 51 seconds to win the featherweight title in December 2018, making her a simultaneous two-division champion. She has been able to defend both titles since, with wins over Holly Holm, Germaine de Randamie, and Felicia Spencer in her last fight at UFC 250.
With the addition, the UFC 259 lineup now includes:
- Champ Amanda Nunes vs. Megan Anderson – for women’s featherweight title
- Aleksandar Rakic vs. Thiago Santos
- Dominick Cruz vs. Casey Kenney
- Askar Askarov vs. Joseph Benavidez
- Sean Brady vs. Jake Matthews
- Randy Costa vs. Trevin Jones
- Aalon Cruz vs. Uros Medic
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