Felicia Spencer is not dwelling on her loss to Cris Cyborg at UFC 240.
Although the Canadian lost the fight by unanimous decision she knows she had plenty of success. She cut Cyborg’s forehead, and took the Brazilian’s hardest shots and kept moving forward. All in all, she is happy with some parts of her performance but knows she could have done better.
“I can take away a lot of good things from it,” Spencer told BJPenn.com. “I’m happy everyone liked it. But, there were some things I could have done better. It definitely sucks but like I said, the reaction I got from the loss was more than I expected. So, I guess it is a good consolation prize.”
Spencer was able to slice Cyborg open in the first round. It was the first time the former champ had been cut in an MMA fight. Spencer says accomplishing this gave her a lot of confidence as she returned to her stool after round one.
“Yeah, it was pretty early on and gave me confidence,” she explained. “It was a new experience for me, as I have never cut someone before. I felt very good about the first round and very confident heading into the second round. I knew I could implement some things in the second to help me in the fight. I felt pretty good and was pretty happy with it overall.
“It still was an honor to share the Octagon with her. There were moments I felt that I could take the fight. She was better that night but she is a legend,” she added. “It is an honor that I fought her and happy that I did.”
Although she did not win the fight, going three rounds with Cyborg is an impressive feat for Felicia Spencer. The fight also gives her a ton of confidence going forward, as this was just her eighth professional fight.
“It really does [add to my confidence]. I know I could have done things better. But, yeah it makes me feel more confident in my future. I know I belong there near the top. If I fight Cyborg again, if given the opportunity, I know what it takes to win, ” she said.
With this fight in the books, Spencer is now looking to the future. That being said, she’s not sure what’s next, given the state of the UFC featherweight division.
“I’m not sure. I haven’t heard anything from the UFC. But, I’m not going to stress about it. There are some fights that need to be booked and I don’t mind some recovery time. I had two fight camps in a row. I want to fight again,” Spencer concluded. “I’ll just let time go by and see how the division is looking. They might be looking at featherweights outside the UFC. I will have another opportunity.”
Were you impressed by Felicia Spencer at UFC 240?
This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/30/2019.