UFC 250 Targeted for 145-Pound Title Defense of Amanda Nunes vs. Winner at UFC Norfolk

Ultimate planeja Amanda Nunes no UFC 250, em São Paulo; Leoa deseja defender título dos penas. Adversária da brasileira deve sair do UFC Norfolk. | combate | Globoesporte https://t.co/g4W8ZtAWf6 com @gvenga

— Raphael Marinho (@raphamarinho) February 28, 2020

The Ultimate Fighting Championship has reportedly raised the stakes of a couple of featherweight matchups on Saturday.

On Friday, Combate reported that the promotion is considering a 145-pound championship matchup for Amanda Nunes at UFC 250. Two featherweight bouts of Felicia Spencer vs. Zarah Fairn dos Santos and Megan Anderson vs. Norma Dumont Viana are on tap for UFC Norfolk. The more impressive winner between those two bouts may be next for a crack at the featherweight queen.

The promotion has put on a similar type of conditional title eliminator fight card in the past, where multiple competitors in a weight class face off against one another, and the best victor gets a shot at the champ. UFC on Fox 4 saw Mauricio Rua take on Brandon Vera, while Lyoto Machida faced Ryan Bader. Both Rua and Machida prevailed by knockout. Unfortunately for both men, neither actually earned a title shot, and of the two, Machida needed to win three more wins to vie for the belt in a different division. Rua has yet to gain another championship opportunity since losing the belt to Jon Jones in 2011.

Nunes has won each of her last 10 bouts, a record among female fighters in the UFC. The simultaneous two-division champ has finished seven those opponents before the final bell, including six in the opening frame. Her last two title fights have come at bantamweight, defending her throne against Holly Holm and Germaine de Randamie. She won the featherweight strap by becoming the first fighter to knock out Cristiane Justino. “Lioness” wrote on social media on Thursday that she is “very excited for the UFC card this week,” likely in anticipation of finding a future challenger between the victors.

UFC 250 goes down on May 19 at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and although a headliner has not yet been announced, Henry Cejudo will defend his bantamweight strap against former featherweight king Jose Aldo on the card. Additionally, the aforementioned Rua will complete his trilogy against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at light heavyweight.