In the co-main event of UFC 259, we will see the return of the greatest female mixed martial artist of all time. Amanda Nunes (20-4) is back and she is set to defend her featherweight championship against Megan Anderson (11-4).
The Lioness has now won eleven fights in a row and she’s almost appeared non-human during this run. The two-division UFC champion has dominated virtually everyone the promotion has put in front of her outside of Valentina Shevchenko.
Amanda Nunes is the complete package. She has dynamite in her strikes, she’s got very good wrestling, and she’s incredibly slick on the ground. There used to be a narrative that Nunes didn’t have the best gas tank.
I mean, that was fair considering her cardio was the reason she lost to Cat Zingano. However, this Amanda Nunes is not the same fighter. We just saw her beat Felicia Spencer for five consecutive rounds and she looked like she could fight five more rounds.
The greatest women’s fighter in UFC history is not going to be dethroned easily. Simply put, Megan Anderson has an extremely tall order. Since making her debut with the UFC, Anderson has gone 3-2 with her two losses coming to Felicia Spencer and Holly Holm.
Both of those women were destroyed by Nunes, so by MMA Math, Anderson has no chance right? Well, Anderson has won two in a row to earn this UFC title shot and she appears motivated and confident in her ability to pull off the unthinkable.
UFC 259 Prediction
There are some attributes that Megan Anderson has that give her a chance at UFC 259. She’s very tall and long which is something that Nunes is not used to. Perhaps if Anderson can keep this fight at range, she can fluster the champion.
Her long legs give her decent submissions off her back which she might need in this fight. In addition to those, she has good pop in her shots and has a very good right cross. However, will any of those attributes matter when it comes to the UFC 259 co-main event?
I can’t imagine any scenario where Amanda Nunes doesn’t win this fight. She’s going to have the grappling advantage and she will have a massive advantage in terms of speed. Anderson might have good power, but she’s going to get lit up by the speed of the shots from Nunes.
It would take a miracle for Anderson to pull this off and I don’t see that miracle happening. This is Nunes’ first fight since becoming a mother and I believe it’s going to be smooth sailing for the champion.
This is going to be a very one-sided fight that I don’t see going the distance. I believe that Nunes is going to hurt Anderson badly on the feet and this fight ends up on the ground in the second where Nunes secures the win at UFC 259.
Prediction: Amanda Nunes by Submission (Rear-Naked Choke) – Round 2