ROCHESTER, N.Y. – With so few fighters at women’s featherweight, Megan Anderson should have an easy road to the title. Pick up another win or two, and it’s hard to see why the former Invicta FC champion wouldn’t get her shot.
Then again, she isn’t so sure champ-champ Amanda Nunes will stick to her schedule. Nunes (17-4 MMA, 10-1 UFC) has said she’ll defend the featherweight title after she meets Holly Holm in a bantamweight title fight in July.
Anderson (9-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC), however, would like some assurances.
“If she is (defending), that’s awesome,” Anderson told MMA Junkie on Wednesday prior to a meeting with Felicia Spencer at UFC on ESPN+ 10. “If she’s not, then we need to come up with a plan going forward.
“The division has already taken so long to be developed, I think it’s a little unfair to wait around for a year or a year-and-a-half when she decides ‘I don’t want to defend my featherweight belt anymore.’ It’s already been put back enough. Let’s just make a decision and go forward.”
There are encouraging signs that the promotion is trying to build a women’s division at 145 pounds. Spencer (6-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is the latest transfer from the all-female Invicta FC, and she has history with Anderson. What’s more, she’s never competed south of 145 pounds in a major promotion.
The UFC did cast featherweights on the 28th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” though winner Macy Chiasson immediately dropped to bantamweight. Anderson wasn’t thrilled to see her potential opposition disappear. She believed the promotion should have forced “TUF” competitors to stay at featherweight at least for a little while. Instead, she is left with fewer possible fights.
The most frustrating part for Anderson in all this is that she can’t lose any more weight than she already does. Without opponents at 145, she doesn’t have a career.
“It’s kind of bull(expletive), but we’ve got to make do with what we’ve got,” she said. “Hopefully moving forward it’s going to look better.”
To hear more from Anderson, watch the video above.
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 10, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
