Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer nearly final for UFC 240 per Dana White
The UFC 240 fight card is coming together, as UFC president Dana White told ESPN on Wednesday that he is close to finalizing a co-main event bout between Cris "Cyborg" Justino and Felicia Spencer.
"I'm excited about this Edmonton card. Max Holloway vs. Frankie Edgar is a great main event, and now we have Cris Cyborg vs. Felicia Spencer in the co-main event," White told ESPN. "Felicia is undefeated at 7-0, a former Invicta world champion, coming off a very impressive first-round finish over a top 3-ranked Megan Anderson. I can't wait for this fight."
UFC 240: Holloway vs. Edgar is slated for July 27 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The featherweight title bout between Holloway, the current 145-pound champion, and Edgar was confirmed a couple of weeks ago, but the stars aligned for Cyborg vs. Spencer only recently after Spencer won her most recent bout at UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee in Rochester, N.Y.
Cyborg (20-2, 1NC) is coming off of the first defeat of her UFC career and only her second defeat ever in professional mixed martial arts. Cyborg won the UFC women's featherweight title by defeating Tonya Evinger at UFC 214 in July of 2017 and then defended it twice. She defeated Holly Holm and Yana Kunitskaya.
She lost to belt to UFC bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes at UFC 232 in the final event of 2018. The victory made Nunes the first woman to hold titles in two different UFC weight classes. She also became only the third fighter in UFC history to maintain championships in two different weight classes simultaneously.
Spencer (7-0) made her Octagon debut at UFC Fight Night on ESPN+ 10, where she upset highly regarded fellow former Invicta FC featherweight champion Megan Anderson. Having previously spent her entire career under the Invicta FC banner, Spencer made an immediate name for herself under the UFC banner with her first-round submission of Anderson.
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After defeating Anderson, Spencer said it would be an honor to face Cyborg, who responded on Twitter by saying, "July 27th Edmonton Canada. I have had one UFC fight in 15 months. Challenge accepted."
Now it appears the UFC has put the bout together and Cyborg vs. Spencer will serve as the UFC 240 co-main event to Holloway and Edgar's headlining clash. The bout with Spencer is the final fight on Cyborg's current UFC contract.
