Former Invicta FC champion Felicia Spencer made an impressive UFC debut this past Saturday, submitting Megan Anderson in the first round of their UFC on ESPN+ 10 main-card fight. 

Spencer, 28, was asked afterward what could be next, and she wasn’t entirely sure. Although, in a super thin division, the options are few, and the one that came up was former UFC champ Cris Cyborg, who is down to do it at July’s UFC 240 in Edmonton. But should Spencer really leap all the way to a matchup with Cyborg right after her debut? MMA Junkie’s John Morgan, Fernanda Prates and Ben Fowlkes sound off in this edition of “Triple Take.”  

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John Morgan: Spencer’s time is coming, but no need to rush it

Mark my words: Felicia Spencer will one day be the UFC women’s featherweight champion. The skills she’s shown on her way up the ranks of Invicta FC proved that she is championship caliber, and her mindset – willing to take on either Cris Cyborg or Amanda Nunes after just one fight in the UFC – is exactly what it takes to succeed at the highest level. But time is on her side.

Just seven fights into her MMA career, Spencer has shown that she’s capable of both quick finishes and grinding victories. She’s certainly not hesitant to strike with opponents, but she also possesses an ability to dominate fights on the floor. In some ways, that’s what makes a fight with Cyborg intriguing. After all, I think most of us always believed the way to beat the Brazilian slugger was to take her out of her element – that is, until Nunes did the unthinkable and knocked her out on the feet.

But Spencer doesn’t need to try and repeat that accomplishment just yet.

Sure, it’s easy to argue there aren’t really any other fights for her to take. Spencer just beat Megan Anderson, which leaves Nunes and Cyborg as the only other real featherweight options available at this time. But UFC officials seem keen to develop this weight class – and with good reason. With that in mind, I believe they’ll be able to find more opponents for Spencer, whether it be against full-time featherweights or not. That added experience would be wise.

After watching her in action for more than a decade, I can say one thing for certain: Fighting Cyborg is different.

If you watch closely enough in most of her fights, you can see the moment her opponents realize it. The way she moves, the power of her shots, the confidence in her aggression – it’s different, and that’s just what happens in the cage.

Fight week brings more attention than you’ve ever handled before. Most of it entails media asking about how you plan to deal with the unstoppable monster that will be standing on the other side of the cage. Sure, you believe in yourself, but with so many other people suggesting you might be in over your head, maybe they’re right?

The variables around a fight with Cyborg reach levels Spencer hasn’t even considered at this point, less than four minutes into her UFC career. Her time is coming. There’s no need to rush it.

Next page – Fernanda Prates: If Cyborg isn’t next, then who is?

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