MMA Junkie Radio co-host and MMA Junkie contributor Dan Tom breaks down the UFC’s top bouts. Today, we look at the co-main event for UFC 240.
UFC 240 takes place Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.
Cris Cyborg (20-2 MMA, 5-1 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’8″ Age: 34 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68″
- Last fight: KO loss to Amanda Nunes (Dec. 29, 2018)
- Camp: Cris Cyborg MMA Fitness (California)
- Stance/striking style: Orthodox/muay Thai
- Risk management: Fair
Supplemental info:
+ Former UFC featherweight champion
+ Strikeforce and Invicta FC titles
+ Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt
+ 17 KO victories
+ 10 first-round finishes
+ KO power
+ Aggressive pace and pressure
^ Superb killer instinct
+ Evolved striking
^ Shot selection and technique
+ Strong inside the clinch
+ Solid wrestling and takedown ability
+ Good positional grappler
^ Devastating ground striker
Felicia Spencer (7-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC)
Staple info:
- Height: 5’6″ Age: 28 Weight: 145 lbs. Reach: 68″
- Last fight: Submission win over Megan Anderson (May 18, 2019)
- 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
+ 1 KO victory
+ 4 submission wins
+ 3 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 Cyborg
The co-main event for UFC 240 features a high-profile featherweight eliminator that pits a newcomer with promise against a recently dethroned champion who finds herself at a crucial crossroad in her career.
On the feet, there is little argument that Cris Cyborg holds court on paper.
Starting off her run as more of a brawling talent from Brazil, Cyborg has found a place to call home in Southern California, working with Jason Parillo to sharpen up her striking. A coach who has helped refine fighters such as B.J. Penn and Michael Bisping, Parillo’s influence and subsequent work with Cyborg has shown to play a role in her evolution over the past few years.
Now, displaying a much more measured approach to pressure, the 34-year-old will steadily stalk forward while managing the distance to her preferred terms. Upgrading her overall stance, Cyborg seems to keep her balance much better, seldom throwing herself out of position.
Prodding with a jab to enter space, Cyborg needs all but the slightest bite (or sign of blood in the water) to swarm her opposition with offensive waves. However, given the opponent at hand, I suspect she may be sitting back and looking to counter.
Enter Felicia Spencer.
Spencer is more than serviceable for a come-forward kickboxer whose black belt in taekwondo 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 incorporate a bit more head movement and level-changes than she’s shown in the past. 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, the 28-year-old will be playing with fire the longer she stands with Cyborg.
Next point of interest: Protect your neck
Point of interest: Protect your neck
Considering where Spencer’s strengths reside, many will be curious to see if she can get Cyborg to play her style of grappling game.
The Canadian-born American resident may not come from a wrestling background, but I love how consistently hard she gets after it in both the takedown and scrambling departments. Spencer can either change levels in the open or hustle for doubles along the fence, and is not afraid to drop back for deep-half-style scrambles that allow her opportunities to sweep and steal positions.
With that in mind, Cyborg cannot afford to get complacent with only defending one or two attempts from Spencer, as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black is clearly playing and planning for multiple steps ahead. And if Cyborg does get taken down, she can’t be as confident in giving her back to stand as she has in the past.
Spencer is a superb back-taker who can secure back-mount in tight and steep spots on the fly.
After all, UFC bantamweight Yana Kunitskaya was able to catch Cyborg out of position with a reactive double-leg, forcing the former featherweight champ to briefly give her back to return upright. That said, Cyborg defended the position successfully, fighting hands and making her way back to the cage as she tripoded up to her feet.
In fact, I would argue that wrestling – due to the nature of Cyborg’s game and what it forces her opposition to do – has quietly become one of her stronger skill sets.
From unloading knees of her own in the Thai plum to hitting lateral drops off an over-under, Cyborg commands a diverse ability to manipulate bodies in close quarters. And when able to ground her opponents, the Brazilian’s assault only seems to intensify.
A no-nonsense grappler, Cyborg prioritizes position over submission.
Whether she is attacking or defending submissions, Cyborg does well at killing or creating scrambles on her terms. Typically wasting little time in settling in on top, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt will apply steady doses of forearm or shoulder pressure, securing her target for the strikes that are soon to follow.
When fighting from inside the guard, Cyborg displays intelligent hand-fighting and positional awareness in and out of her opponent’s grasp, making her hard to submit throughout her ground assaults. Still, Cyborg will need to be careful to not get overconfident in these positions.
Spencer parlays her leg dexterity from tae kwon do nicely into her grappling game and will likely offer a lot of submissions and scramble looks from this position, something that could ultimately force Cyborg to play much more conservative than usual.
Next point of interest: Odds, opinion and prediction
Point of interest: Odds and opinions
The oddsmakers and public still seem high on the former champ, listing Cyborg -650 and Spencer +475 as of this writing.
Given that it’s a fight involving Cyborg, such a wide spread doesn’t really surprise me. However, as one of the few who supported Spencer her last time out, I will warn anyone who is uber-confident in laying that high of chalk on Cyborg.
Now, I don’t think that Cyborg will be showing up to Edmonton as a shot fighter by any stretch, but I can’t help but question the intangibles of mileage and mentality (in regards to the weight of this being her last contracted fight with the organization). Couple that with a deceptively tough fighter that’s easy to overlook, and you have the proverbial perfect storm for an upset.
That said, I’m not sure I see it happening unless Spencer can both take the shots of Cyborg and force that dogfight she desires. But even then, Cyborg has long been an underrated grappler who has consistently competed in jiu-jitsu, as well as (allegedly) made a solid accounting for herself against her male contemporaries in the gym throughout the years.
I’m a big fan of Spencer’s style and attitude, I just can’t help but see Cyborg exploiting certain defensive holes she has on the feet. Spencer seems like she can take a shot and not get shut down by adversity, but the pick is Cyborg to find a stoppage via counter strikes come the second round.
Prediction: Cyborg inside the distance
For more on UFC 240, check out the UFC schedule.
