It's a good thing Megan Anderson, the UFC women's featherweight contender and native of Australia, is so outspoken about her inability to understand how American sports betting works.
"Half the time, I have to ask my friends what the plus and minus means," Anderson told "Morning Kombat" on Tuesday.
Oddsmakers at William Hill Sportsbook have installed Anderson (11-4) as the kind of betting underdog at +700 that's almost comedically astronomical when she challenges two-division champion and -1100 favorite Amanda Nunes (20-4) in their featherweight title bout at UFC 259 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
At 32, Nunes has been so dominant throughout her 12-fight winning streak dating back to 2015 that she's widely praised as the G.O.A.T. of women's MMA. But even though the Brazilian star would be a sizable favorite against literally every other fighter because of the sure-thing she has become in the betting world, the odds don't necessarily paint an accurate picture about Anderson's chances.
At 6-feet tall, Anderson is the furthest thing from the kind of blown-up bantamweights that have populated the UFC's 145-pound division throughout most of its four-year history. The 31-year-old stands tall, hits hard and has shown steady growth since her high-profile defeats in recent years against Holly Holm and Felicia Spencer.
"I'm a featherweight that has a lot of power and that is able to use her range very well. I think that's something that Amanda hasn't ever fought before," Anderson said. "Obviously, Amanda is very good on the ground and is very heavy on top. That's somewhere we don't want to be. I haven't shown the best outing when it does come to the ground, but I think a lot of people are underestimating my wrestling and my grappling."
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Unfortunately, Anderson's accolades alone still wouldn't be enough on the surface to make Nunes feel anything less like an overwhelming favorite. From her dominance to her consistency, Nunes has evolved into a well-rounded force of nature who deserves every accolade she has received.
The question isn't about whether there is such a thing as a good time to face Nunes. The question, instead, surrounds whether Anderson has stumbled upon the most advantageous time up to this point to try and swarm in from under the radar to make a run at unseating the queen.
"I feel like a lot of people have a tendency to fight the name and not the person," Anderson said. "They fight the accolades, which is easy to do. But at the end of the day, it's just two people locked in a cage. Those accolades don't come with her. You just have to tune it out."
Although Nunes hasn't shown too many plausible signs of slowing down, her last two fights have gone the five-round championship distance after getting a finish in 16 of her previous 18 wins. "The Lioness" has also fought just once in the last 15 months amid minor injury setbacks, thoughts of retirement and time off for the birth of her first child with partner, and UFC strawweight contender, Nina Ansaroff.
Nunes' run of dominance
| Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|
March 5, 2016 | Valentina Shevchenko | Unanimous decision win |
July 9, 2016 | Miesha Tate | First-round submission win |
Dec. 30, 2016 | Ronda Rousey | First-round TKO win |
Sept. 9, 2017 | Valentina Shevchenko | Split decision win |
May 12, 2018 | Raquel Pennington | Fifth-round TKO win |
Dec. 29, 2018 | Cris Cyborg | First-round TKO win |
July 6, 2019 | Holly Holm | First-round TKO win |
Dec. 14, 2019 | Germaine de Randamie | Unanimous decision win |
June 6, 2020 | Felicia Spencer | Unanimous decision win |
"I am expecting the best Amanda to step foot in that cage but having a baby is a game changer," Anderson said. "You can't not talk about that. It changes a lot of things.
"I can see the fight going a lot of different ways. I think it's definitely going to be a war of attrition and we are going to bring out the best in each other, which is going to make for an exciting fight."
Whatever intricacies of the sports gambling spectrum still remain foreign for Anderson, she said she can understand why she's being labeled as such an enormous underdog, calling herself "just one of those types of people who can see both sides."
Whether or not this actually is the best time for someone to pin an upset on Nunes when it's least expected or Anderson has just evolved to a level that the casual eye hasn't caught up with, the former Invicta FC featherweight champion expects to turn the division upside down.
"I didn't necessarily have the best outing against Holly Holm. I did not have a very good outing against Felicia [Spencer]," Anderson said. "On the flipside, look at how dominant Amanda has been. It's understandable that people are going to think this way but I don't know. I think a lot of people are underestimating me. I hope to show them why they shouldn't do that."
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