Bad news for Megan Anderson fans. On Tuesday, the fighter announced the UFC had released her after her loss to Amanda Nunes at UFC 259. The organization confirmed the information later in the day.
Fans were hopeful that Anderson would put an end to the Nunes’ reign, one that she’s held since 2016. That hope was short-lived as the G.O.A.T of the women’s MMA division submitted the Australian fighter at 2:06 of round one.
Anderson Confirms End of UFC Contract
Megan Anderson made the announcement via a Twitch live stream late Tuesday afternoon. During her announcement, Anderson took things one step further, telling fans that the women’s featherweight division was also history in the near future, as the UFC had plans to “do away” with it.
Future of the Women’s Featherweight Division
Fans have speculated that the women’s featherweight division would disappear from the UFC sooner or later. The division lacks enough women for official rankings. Scheduling fights in the featherweight division without available fighters is a trick even Dana White cannot pull off.
UFC President, Dana White responded to the Twitch live stream by reassuring fans the featherweight women’s division is safe. He went on to say that as long as Nunes wants to defend her title in the 145-pound weight class, it will be part of the organization.
Expect the featherweight division to be around for some time. Nunes is currently dropping weight to defend her bantamweight title. We expect to see her in the octagon with Juliana Pena shortly thereafter.
White told reporters he wanted Nunes back in the ring as soon as possible after the ‘easy win’ against Anderson.
Nunes currently holds the featherweight title after defeating Cris Cyborg for the belt. She has defended the belt twice, first against Felicia Spencer and then against Anderson. Nunes also holds the bantamweight title.
She’s the only fighter in MMA history to consecutively defend titles in two different weight classes.
Megan Anderson UFC Career History
USA Today ranks Anderson #5 in the women’s featherweight division. She leaves the UFC with an under-impressive 3-3 record. Fresh from Invicta FC, Anderson lost her debut fight in the octagon against Holly Holm in 2018.
She won fights against Cat Zingano, Zarah Fairn Dos Santos and Norma Dumont Viana and lost to Holm, Felicia Spencer, and most recently, Amanda Nunes.
Anderson was originally scheduled to make her octagon debut at UFC 214 in July 2017. Anderson backed out of this fight, citing ‘personal reasons.’ She went on to fight Holly Holm in 2018, losing the fight via unanimous decision.
Her final five fights with the organization ended in the first round, whether she won or lost the bout.
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What’s Next for Anderson?
It seems Megan Anderson suffered a few injuries during the few seconds she was in the octagon with Nunes. Her promotion team says she will take time to recover from those injuries before she rushes back to fight.
As fight fans know, recovery can sometimes be a slow process, so we now sit back and wait.
As a free agent, Megan Anderson can sign a contract with any interested organization should she choose.
She may land a deal with Bellator, who currently has a healthy 145-pound women’s division. The Professional Fighter’s League is another option, although she’d need to gain a few pounds to fight in the Lightweight division with this organization.
But, again, it will be some time before we learn of her future plans since she is taking time to recover. Whatever Anderson chooses, we wish her a successful career in her future endeavors.
The next featherweight bout takes place May 22 when newcomer Danyelle Wolf battles Felicia Spencer. Expect a Pena-Nunes bantamweight matchup soon thereafter.
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