UFC 250: Nunes to continue reign as bantamweights chase empty throne
Updated 10:44, 07-Jun-2020
Josh McNally
North America;Las Vegas
Amanda Nunes of Brazil celebrates after defeating Holly Holm in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 239 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7, 2019. /VCG

Amanda Nunes of Brazil celebrates after defeating Holly Holm in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 239 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7, 2019. /VCG

It's lonely at the top, and few know that better than UFC Women's Feather and Bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes. The Lioness hasn't just been undefeated since 2015, she has been dominant too, taking over two weight divisions, knocking out Cris Cyborg (at that point undefeated since her second ever fight in 2005) and beating UFC Women's Flyweight Champion Valentina "Bullet" Schevchenko, incredibly dominant in her own right, twice.

Now, at UFC 250, which takes place on June 7, Nunes is set to defend her featherweight belt against Felicia Spencer. The latter's record of 8-1 includes an unbeaten run of six in women's MMA company Invicta FC and two more crushing wins, both in the first round, in the UFC. Her one loss, of course, came at the hands of the aforementioned Cris Cyborg.

In any other division, she would be a hot prospect, and this would be an exciting match for the champion but even in an era where COVID-19 is turning everything upside down, and when sports fans are starving for content, this feels like a foregone conclusion.

Obviously, as seen as recently as this past month, when underdog Justin Gaethje smashed top contender Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 and Gilbert Burns made the returning Tyron Woodley look like a chump rather than a once-unstoppable welterweight champion at last week's Fight Night, anything can happen – that's part of the sport's charm, but the methods of beating Nunes seem more limited every time she enters the Octagon.

Not content with just being the best striker the division has ever seen, the Lioness has clearly been spending plenty of time learning to grapple, wrestle and submit her fellow fighters.

Amanda Nunes of Brazil kicks Holly Holm in the head in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 239 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7, 2019. /VCG

Amanda Nunes of Brazil kicks Holly Holm in the head in their UFC bantamweight championship fight during the UFC 239 event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, July 7, 2019. /VCG

Her last title defense, a bantamweight bout against Germaine de Randamie, ended up going the distance rather than featuring a stunning finish, but it was a fight in the style of the greatest of all time, Georges St-Pierre: at no point in any of the five rounds did de Randamie ever have any kind of advantage, she was outclassed throughout and lasted to the entirely through resilience. It sent a message to the rest of the sport. Her contenders aren't contenders at all.

It's hard not to imagine something similar will happen to Spencer; in fact, it’s easier to imagine that she going to end up like Cyborg, Ronda Rousey, Holly Holm and the rest of The Lioness' victims for two reasons. The first is because this is a fight at featherweight, Nunes' natural and preferred weight class. The second is because the Octagon at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas is smaller than the one the company typically used: it's down from 30 feet to 25 in diameter. It's considered a training cage, yet when used for hosting real fights, it's known for promoting finishes. The smaller size keeps fighters together and that's a benefit for a true knock out artist like Nunes.

Lower down the card are two bantamweight fights, one of which was initially intended to take place in March. Aljamain Sterling vs. Cory Sandhagen, second in the bantamweight rankings vs. fourth place, and fifth ranked Rafael Assuncao vs. the returning Cody Garbrandt. On paper, these are two fascinating fights. Sterling vs. Sandhagen has all the markings of two top contenders finally facing off. Sterling's 18-3 record is slightly more impressive than his opponent's 13-1 but it could really go either way and should be a lot of fun.

TJ Dillashaw celebrates his knockout victory over Cody Garbrandt in their UFC bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 217 event inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, November 4, 2017. /VCG

TJ Dillashaw celebrates his knockout victory over Cody Garbrandt in their UFC bantamweight championship bout during the UFC 217 event inside Madison Square Garden in New York City, November 4, 2017. /VCG

Assuncao vs. Garbrandt, however, is something of a mystery. The Brazilian is something of a veteran who is on a two fight losing streak – one to top ranked bantamweight Marlon "Magic" Moraes, one to card mate Sandhagen – and has developed a reputation as a gatekeeper. Much like Cowboy Cerrone in the lightweight division, Assuncao fights regularly and often goes on runs of four or five wins, only to be trounced by champions and championship contenders. That makes him the perfect match for the returning Garbrandt, a fighter who only knows two modes: on and off.

His 11 fight win streak, which culminated in a title victory over Dominick Cruz, who at that point hadn't lost in nine years and 13 fights, is one of the best in MMA history and it seemed a new star was born. Then he lost the belt immediately to TJ Dillashaw at UFC 217, lost the rematch in staggeringly bad fashion at UFC 227 - TJ later tested positive for steroid EPO, casting these results into doubt - and was then knocked out cold by Pedro Munoz at UFC 235 on March 2, 2019. Now, over a year later, he's back and looking for redemption. If the past is anything to go by, this bout will be electric.

Neither of these fights need any extra hype, but with the UFC Men's Bantamweight Champion Henry Cejudo retiring, effective immediately, as of UFC 249, these fights have gone from being ways for guys to move up the rankings to finding out who is going to face Moraes in the inevitable title match - assuming "Magic" doesn't get bored and actually pick that fight he's been talking about on Twitter with Dominick Cruz in the mean time. If there's one thing the coronavirus era will be remembered for, it's proving that you can stop talking about championships, remove fans from the arena, mess with schedules on an almost daily basis, and for some guys, it won't matter because all they want to do is fight.