The UFC returns to action on June 6, 2020, for UFC 250: Nunes vs Spencer which will be held at its Apex Facility in Nevada.
UFC 250 was supposed to be held in Brazil on April 21 but was one of the events canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was recently re-booked for June 6th in Nevada after the NSAC lifted its ban on combat sports.
Amanda Nunes will defend the UFC women’s featherweight belt for the first time against former Invicta FC featherweight champion Felicia Spencer in the main event.
Nunes is the current UFC women’s bantamweight and featherweight champion. The 32-year old Brazilian is the #1 ranked female pound for pound fighter in the promotion. Known as the Lioness, Nunes won 10 straight fights including seven title bouts. She has successfully defended the bantamweight belt five times and will be making the first defense of the featherweight belt in this fight.
She stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 69 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. The Lioness has a record of 19-4 with 13 knockouts and three wins via submission. Nunes has knocked out four out of her last six opponents and she is coming off a five-round unanimous decision win over Germaine de Randamie at UFC 245.
Felicia Spencer is a former Invicta FC featherweight champion who vacated her title to join the UFC in 2019. She started her MMA career at Tuff-N-Uff promotion before joining Invicta FC. The Feenom defeated Megan Anderson in her UFC debut but she suffered her first career loss to Cris Cyborg during her second Octagon appearance.
The 29-year old Canadian stands 5-6 tall and has a reach of 68 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. She has a record of 8-1 with two knockouts and four wins via submission. In her most recent UFC bout, Spencer picked up a first-round knockout win over Zarah Fairn Dos Santos at UFC Fight Night 169.
Nunes is just too good of a striker for Spencer here. The Lioness has defeated the best technical strikers and the most powerful ones as well. She is in her prime and has won her last 10 bouts, including seven by stoppage. Spencer is an excellent grappler and submission artist but Nunes is a hard woman to take down and she also has very good wrestling skills. I think that Nunes keeps this fight up and she will tear Spencer apart with her pinpoint striking.
PREDICTION: AMANDA NUNES (-625)
Former Pinnacle FC fighter Cody Garbrandt became the second fighter to defeat Dominick Cruz when he captured the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 207 in only his 11th MMA bout. Known as No Love, the 28-year old Garbrandt is a former NCAA Division II wrestler from Newberry College and Notre Dame College.
Garbrandt stands 5-8 tall with a reach of 65 inches and is an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 11-3 with nine wins coming by way of knockout. Three out of his last four bouts have been title fights and he has lost his last three fights, all via knockout. In his most recent outing, Garbrandt suffered a first-round knockout loss to Pedro Munhoz.
Raphael Assuncao is the 5th ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 37-year old Brazilian has been fighting since forever and he was among the holdovers from the WEC who were absorbed during the UFC merger. After winning 11 of 12 bouts from 2011-2018, he lost back to back fights last year.
Assuncao stands 5-5 tall and has a reach of 66 inches and is an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 27-7 with four knockouts and 10 wins via submission. He is 4-3 in his last seven bouts and is coming off back to back losses to Marlon Moraes and Cory Sandhagen. This will be Assuncao’s first bout since August 2019.
Garbrandt is an elusive fighter because of his footwork and he likes to lead off with a stiff jab. When he is on top of his game, his striking is elite and he has never been taken down in his UFC career. The problem with Garbrandt is that he loses focus and can be lured into a brawl, which has led to three straight knockout losses. Assuncao was on a great run prior to his current two-fight slide. He is a master of distance and has great reflexes. He can stand in front of his opponent and make them miss before launching his excellent counter-attack. However, he doesn’t have the knockout power that will knock Garbrandt out.
PREDICTION: CODY GARBRANDT (-140)
Aljamain Sterling is the former bantamweight champion from the Cage Fury Fighting Championships. The 30-year old from New York is the #2 ranked bantamweight in the UFC and is known as the Funk Master because of his unorthodox wrestling style. The former Ring of Combat bantamweight champion is 10-3 inside the UFC octagon.
Sterling stands 5-7 with a reach of 71 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. His overall record is 18-3 with two knockouts and seven wins via submission. Funk Master has won four consecutive bouts since losing to Marlon Moraes at UFC Fight Night 123 in 2017. In his last bout, Sterling scored a unanimous decision win over Pedro Munhoz at UFC 238.
Cory Sandhagen is the 4th ranked bantamweight in the UFC. The 28-year old is a former SCL featherweight champion who also fought for the Legacy Fighting Alliance promotion. Since joining the UFC, the Sandman has won five consecutive bouts including four since his move down to the bantamweight division.
Sandhagen stands 5-11 tall with a reach of 70 inches and he is a switch-hitter. The Sandman has a record of 12-1 with four knockouts and three wins via submission. He is coming off back to back victories over fellow contenders John Lineker and Raphael Assuncao.
Sandhagen is a come-forward fighter who likes to back down his opponents and tries to beat them up when they are pinned against the cage. His weakness is his wrestling as he has been taken down in every UFC bout he’s fought, including four times last August when he beat Assuncao. Sterling has the reach advantage here and he can chip away from the outside without taking the risk of brawling with Sandhagen. He can fight on his backfoot well if Sandhagen attacks and he has good footwork and head movement to limit the damage. I think Sterling wins a long fight.
PREDICTION: ALJAMAIN STERLING (-117)
Neil Magny made a name for himself during the 12th edition of The Ultimate Fighter competition. The 32-year old from New York tied a UFC record with five bouts in 2014. Magny owns notable wins over Tim Means, Kelvin Gastelum, Hector Lombard, and Carlos Condit.
Magny stands 6-3 tall with a ridiculous reach of 80 inches while fighting as an orthodox fighter. He has a record of 22-7 with seven knockouts and three wins via submission. He has won three out of his last four bouts and is coming off a decision win over Li Jianling at UFC 248.
Anthony Rocco Martin fought for Cage Fighting Extreme and Dakota Fighting Championships before coming to the UFC. The 30-year old lost three out of his first four UFC bouts but has since adapted well to the competition as he has lost just twice in his last 10 octagon appearances.
Martin is six feet tall and has a reach of 73 inches while fighting out of the orthodox stance. He has an overall record 17-5 with one knockout and nine wins via submission. In his most recent bout, Martin scored a unanimous decision win over Ramazan Emeev at UFC Fight Night 163.
Magney returned from a 16-month layoff last March and it didn’t look like he missed a beat. He outlanded Li Jianling 74-16 and took his opponent down four times. That well-roundedness is going to be the key to this fight Martin is a tough fighter who has good grappling skills. He has nine wins by submission but only one via knockout. Magny should be good enough to defend him on the ground but when the fight is on the feet, this is a one-sided affair in favor of Magny who also has a ridiculous 80-inch reach.
PREDICTION: NEIL MAGNY (-142)
Sean O’Malley was first seen at Dana White’s Contender Series. This former IFC bantamweight champion made his UFC debut at the TUF 26 Finale where he scored a win over Terrion White.
O’Malley stands 5-11 tall with a reach of 72 inches and is a switch hitter. He has an overall record of 11-0 with seven knockouts and one win by way of submission. In his most recent bout, O’Malley picked up a win over Jose Alberto Quinonez whom he knocked out in the first round.
Eddie Wineland is a former WEC bantamweight champion. The 35-year old is also a Total Fight Challenge bantamweight champion who also challenged for the UFC bantamweight title at UFC 165. Wineland has four losses in his last seven outings.
Wineland is 5-7 tall and has a reach of 69 inches and is an orthodox fighter. His professional record is 24-13 with 15 knockouts and four wins via submission. In his most recent bout, Wineland knocked out Grigor Popov at UFC 238.
Wineland likes to get in the face of his opponents but his aggressive style isn’t going to work against O’Malley. The 25-year old has one of the longest reaches in the division at 72 inches. That’s the same reach as former UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier. O’Malley manages distance well using his reach and he uses kicks and jabs to keep his foes at bay. With his speed and reach, he should avoid damage and win this fight from a distance.
PREDICTION: SEAN O’MALLEY (-500)
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