UFC 250 breakdown: Does Felicia Spencer have any underdog upset shot against Amanda Nunes?

MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the main event for UFC 250.

UFC 250 takes place Saturday at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

Amanda Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’8″ Age: 32 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 69″
• Last fight: Decision win over Germaine de Randamie (Dec. 14, 2019)
• Camp: American Top Team (Florida)
• Stance/striking style: Orthodox/muay Thai
• Risk management: Good

Supplemental info:
+ UFC bantamweight and featherweight champion
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ Judo brown belt
+ 13 KO victories
+ 3 submission win
+ 13 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Underrated footwork
+ Improved jab
+ Dangerous right hand
+ Hard leg kicks
+ Strong inside the clinch
^ Good hip awareness
+ Solid top game

Felicia Spencer (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC)

Staple info:

• Height: 5’6″ Age: 29 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68″
• Last fight: TKO win over Zarah Fairn (Feb. 29, 2020)
• Camp: The Jungle MMA (Florida)
• Stance/striking style: Switch-stance/kickboxing
• Risk management: Fair

Supplemental info:
+ Invicta FC featherweight title
+ Taekwondo black belt
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt
+ 2 KO victory
+ 4 submission wins
+ 4 first-round finishes
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
+ Diverse striking arsenal
^ Kickboxing attacks, stance-shifting attacks
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Serviceable wrestling and takedowns
^ Relentless chains and scrambles
+ Superb transitional grappler
^ Excellent back-taker

Point of interest: Striking with the Lioness

The main event for UFC 250 features a featherweight title fight between two females who aren’t afraid of a little traffic on the feet.

Felicia Spencer, who is a serviceable, come-forward kickboxer, carries a black belt in tae kwon do that speaks loudly within her style.

Staying light on her feet and not afraid to shift stances, Spencer can unleash everything from ax to hook kicks off her lead leg to front teeps and round kicks from the rear. When feeling in stride, Spencer does a decent job of attaching punches to her striking flow, but her defense is also most culpable at these times.

Shifting attacks alone tend to open up even the best of strikers to harsh weather by nature, so Spencer will have to really prioritize head movement and level-changes to avoid any abrupt stops or counters. In fact, changing her level/using the looming takedown threats could serve her well standing, especially should Spencer fake a takedown to a head kick a la Frankie Edgar-style.

Still, no matter Spencer’s approach, she can’t afford to get too creative before getting to her preferred points of entry. Striking comfort aside, she will be standing across a fast and formidable fighter come Saturday night.

Enter Amanda Nunes.

A fighter who came storming aggressively out of the gates, Nunes has had to refine her natural aptitude for combat. Training boxing since she was 16, Nunes has rounded out her game with effective muay Thai since entering MMA.

Initially forcing her way into exchanges (and producing quick results in doing so), Nunes has slowly sharpened her skills, smartly adjusting her pressuring approach. Most notably, Nunes has improved her footwork, circling just outside of range as opposed to rushing right in.

Intelligently circling or taking the appropriate angles, the double champ has been able to improve her distance management, striking technique and shot selection, making the power coming off of her frame more potent in the process. This, coupled with Nunes’ upgraded jab and feints, could help her dissuade the offense that may be coming her way.

Nunes has also proven to use her jab much more efficiently to set up her crosses and hooks, as well as utilizing it as a check to either the head or body to help exit exchanges safely.

Even though Nunes has proven in recent years that she can conduct herself accordingly in the striking department for prolonged periods of time, I see this being a battle that will require a lot of effort in regards to keeping things on the feet.

Next point of interest: Wrestling wears