Felicia "The FeeNom" Spencer is a true 145er for the UFC. That's as rare as Halley's Comet. This Saturday night the 29-year-old co-mains the UFC Fight Night 169 in Norfolk Virginia card. While her future is still bright, her future in the UFC is still a question. As is the "make-believe" female featherweight division. While the company has always been coy with the men's Flyweight division, there's been radio silence for the women. The division came into existence due to them wanting to be in the Cris Cyborg business. Having a long term living breathing division for the bigger women was never on their to-do list.
For the men's 125 lb division; while it's a mere shell of what it was, they at least rank who's left. The same cannot be said for the women — which makes you wonder since there's no Cyborg, when will they finally cut ties with this charade. Felicia Spencer, Megan Anderson, whatever 135ers they "blow up" deserve much better. They had a The Ultimate Fighter season to try to build from the ground up and they fumbled it away like Joe Pisarcik fumbling a handoff.
Spencer lost her first-ever fight. Since then she rolled 12 straight wins (5 as an amateur, then 6 as a pro), en route to winning gold in INVICTA. Then came her shot vs Cris Cyborg. The heart she showed staying in there against a focused Cyborg for the distance, shows just how talented the Florida native is. While losing a unanimous decision, she was taught many lessons in that fight. The fact that she has the looks, and aura that can make her a household name is even more of an indictment that the organization is missing out, big time.
She faces Zarah Fairn Dos Santos on the card. The head-hunting 33-year-old is a danger on the feet and on the ground. Four of her six wins are finishes. Those four all come in the first round as well. However; if Felicia is able to get back on the winning side of the ledger, there arem't many other options. Germaine de Randamie said she's not going back to 145 again. They could ask Holly Holm to blow back up to 145 again.
Her submission win over Megan doesn't have the "we need a rematch" storyline. Or they can give her a crack at Amanda Nunes who's the lone champ-champ left in the company. But that might not end too well for her as Amanda is on such a devastating roll right now. The other female featherweights just can't be too happy with the situation at the moment, and there's only so much someone can take before they move on.
Who knows? We might see her go up 10 pounds and head to PFL. Or she could join Cyborg in Bellator MMA; possibly for a rematch. For now, we will have to stay tuned to find out.