The best and worst from UFC Fight Night 169: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo
UFC Fight Night 169 turned out to be perhaps one of the strangest in promotional history. You can’t say it wasn’t a fun or entertaining show, as we got a finish in every one of the main card fights and only maybe one fight on the prelims – Marcin Tybura vs. Serghei Spivac – was dull.
However, we’ve come away from the show without a UFC Flyweight Champion after a fight that ended in semi-controversial circumstances, which is no good for anyone, and we also saw one of the most bizarre refereeing performances in UFC history too.
Here are the best and worst moments from UFC Fight Night 169: Joseph Benavidez vs. Deiveson Figueiredo.
#1 Best: We’ve actually got some intrigue at Featherweight
The Women’s Featherweight division is undoubtedly the most underdeveloped in the UFC right now, with only a handful of athletes signed and champion Amanda Nunes floating between 145lbs and 135lbs while holding both titles. Last night was a rare showcase for the Featherweights, as we were given two main card fights in the division, and in a positive outcome, both delivered the goods.
First, Megan Anderson survived some early takedown attempts to knock out Norma Dumont Viana with a picture-perfect right hand in the first round, and then in the semi-main event, Felicia Spencer simply destroyed an overmatched Zarah Fairn with ground-and-pound for a TKO. After their wins, both Anderson and Spencer talked up a shot at Nunes – who has since seemingly obliged on social media.
So who should get the shot? Well, it’s got to be Spencer who beat Anderson last year in one-sided fashion. In reality, Australia’s Anderson is perhaps the more intriguing fight for Nunes – she’s a huge, a concussive puncher, and seems to be closing the holes in her ground game – but for now, it’d probably be smarter to let her develop further, so giving Spencer a crack instead is only fair.
Either way, Women’s Featherweight is still a paper-thin division, but at least there seems to be a way for it to move forward, especially after last night.