LAS VEGAS – Felicia Spencer readily admits Amanda Nunes is likely the greatest female mixed martial artist of all-time but thinks that has little bearing on their matchup at UFC 250.

“I always say, ‘There’s another human being in front of me,’” Spencer told MMA Junkie. “I don’t look at her highlights or lowlights as anything that’s going to tell the story of her skillset or what I’m going to see on that night. I think every accomplishment that she’s had is real. She found a way to win so many fights, and a lot of them impressively, but again, it’s another fight. It’s someone that she’s never faced before.

“I’m different. I know I’m different. I know what I bring to the table. It’s going to feel different for her, and I’m going to be able to find a way to win.”

Women’s featherweight challenger Spencer (8-1 MMA, 2-1 UFC) faces reigning two-division titleholder Nunes (19-4 MMA, 12-1 UFC) in the main event of Saturday’s UFC 250, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and early prelims on UFC Fight Pass/ESPN+.

For Spencer, the opportunity to compete for a UFC title in just her fourth octagon appearance is a dream come true.

“Every day I wake up, and I’m like, ‘Man, I wish it was fight day,’” Spencer said. “I’m just so excited to get in there and experience it all – the cage, Amanda, fighting and winning. I’m so excited to do it.”

Of course, it wasn’t a completely unpredictable path. After all, Spencer came to the UFC as the undefeated reigning champion of Invicta FC, the sport’s leading all-female promotion. With the UFC’s still-developing women’s featherweight division, only a handful of athletes compete in the class, meaning the path to a title shot doesn’t necessarily represent a lengthy journey.

“I had a feeling that things would move quickly,” Spencer said. “I believed in myself and my abilities to take me there. It sure did move quick right from the start, going from winning my first fight and then being able to have a huge opportunity right after that, and then winning my next fight. It’s all, I guess, been pretty quick, but I never doubted it would happen quickly, especially with this division. I knew I would get straight to the top of it as fast as I could.”

That “huge opportunity” was a moment that earned the Canadian contender quite a bit of respect in many people’s eyes. Sure, Spencer has earned first-found finishes of Zarah Fairn and Megan Anderson, but it was actually a three-round loss to all-time great Cris Cyborg that impressed many people unfamiliar with her full body of work.

“I think every experience, good or bad or in between, is going to have a part of where you are at the moment,” Spencer said. “Being able to look back and just know that everything I thought about myself was true, that I would stand in front of her and that I honestly didn’t feel any kind of, like, fear. Some people say that her opponents are beat before they even get in front of her, that mentally they’re already beaten. For me, I was 100 percent confident the whole time, even at the end of the third round.

“At any moment of the fight, I know I can win. I had that drive to win at every moment. So, not that I doubted that I would have that feeling, but it was nice to, like, prove it to yourself sometimes. I do have the drive to win. I know I can win any fight at any moment. So yeah, it definitely gives me something to draw on. It’s just experience and adapting. I feel like I’m even better now than I used to be at adapting so situations and finding my moment. I’m going to find my moment in this fight.”

Like everyone competing right now, Spencer’s preparation was impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Training routines were changed. Partners were scares. It would seem to be less than ideal when getting ready for the biggest fight of your career, but Spencer said that the narrowed focus actually proved beneficial.

“Obviously everything was a little different,” Spencer said. “We had to find a new normal, a new rhythm, and basically we just looked at, ‘What do I need out of camp?’ and found a way to make it happen. I had a couple people around me I was able to work with. We found a place to train – different places than usual, less people involved, obviously. That would be the only thing I think that was kind of missed, was having more looks and more bodies, but honestly, the people I picked that I had with me to train, I think were perfectly suited for me to train for Amanda Nunes, which that’s the really the focus, right?

“Most of the time, I’m in fight camp, and I have people around me who are also in fight camp, and we’re all training together to help each other, and it was almost like a very selfish feeling, but it felt good. Everything that was happening was because of me and my fight, and it was all about Amanda Nunes. So that was a little different, but I think it actually worked out pretty good. I feel so good about what we did. All of our attention was on Amanda Nunes every moment of training. So that was different, but an unexpected surprise, I think. We all felt really good about training.”

Oddsmakers have Spencer installed as a heavy underdog heading into Saturday night, which is understandable given Nunes’ career accomplishments, as well as her current form. But Spencer isn’t putting any stock in those opinions. A lifelong martial artist, Spencer is excited for the chance to shock the world.

“I adapt in every situation, and I doubt that it would be a first-round, as much as I would love it to be a first-round finish and be done with it, but I can see myself finishing this fight before that five rounds is up,” Spencer said. :I think it’s going to be a lot of grind, a lot of pressure, and I’m just so excited to feel that in the fight. I’m excited to feel that grind and know that I’m ready to go for 10 rounds. I’m going to keep going, and I’m just going to wait for that moment when I can win.

“You’re going to see a new version of me, a new version of the ‘Feenom.’ I’m putting things together differently. I’m so confident. It’s going to be a gritty fight, and you’re going to see me with my hand raised at the end of it.”