Felicia Spencer believes beating Amanda Nunes “legitimatizes” her career

Felicia Spencer is confident she has what it takes to beat Amanda Nunes.

Spencer was expected to battle Nunes for the featherweight belt at UFC 249 on May 9. Yet, the fight was postponed after Nunes said she wouldn’t be fighting during the pandemic. The Canadian, Spencer, is now in a wait and see approach as to when the fight will happen. But, the delay has not derailed her confidence.

Entering this fight, many think Felicia Spencer’s best chance to win is to take the fight to the ground. Although she has shown off solid ground and pound and jiu-jitsu she knows her striking is equally as dangerous.

“I think people view the ground as the path to least resistance for me. I’m not as one dimensional as people think I am,” Spencer said to BJPENN.com. “I haven’t shown the best on my standup and that’s on me. But, I’m ready for an MMA fight. A lot of times is I get my opponents down which makes people believe my best chance is there.”

Meanwhile, another factor in this fight is the size. Spencer is a legitimate featherweight and believes her size and pressure could frustrate Nunes.

“It could. I don’t think it will make a huge difference or impact her gameplan. I’m a featherweight and I’m strong and I go forward,” she explained. “She’ll have to deal with my pressure but she has been anticipating a featherweight fight for a while so he’s probably bigger than she normally is. I’m a featherweight and she’s not used to dealing with that pressure and size.”

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When the two do share the Octagon, Spencer will be a sizeable underdog, but she isn’t paying attention to any of that. Instead, she’s just focusing on her gameplan and she knows she will get her hand raised and her “And New” by Bruce Buffer.

If she does pull off the upset and beat Nunes, Spencer says that it legitimizes her career.

“When I beat her it legitimatizes my career for some people. People don’t think I’m worth much in the MMA world,” Spencer said. “But, her status as the GOAT wouldn’t transfer to me. For my career, it would put a stamp on it. Anyone that can say they are a UFC champion is amazing. It just solidifies my standing.”

Do you agree with Felicia Spencer that a win over Amanda Nunes legitimizes her career?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 4/23/2020.