Megan Anderson: UFC Needs to Sign More Featherweights

Australian Ultimate Fighting Championship featherweight Megan Anderson is set to face former bantamweight champion Holly Holm in a 145-pound contest at UFC 225 on June 9. If Anderson can defeat Holm a showdown with Cristiane Justino could be beckoning.

Fans were excited when the UFC finally announced Anderson’s signing from Invicta Fighting Championships, as she is seen as a fighter who can truly challenge “Cyborg.” The Aussie is riding a four-fight winning streak and her strong muay Thai coupled with her muscular and athletic physique could pose a threat to the champ, who is used to dominating her opponents inside the Octagon with her power and killer instinct.

Anderson was previously scheduled to face Cyborg at UFC 214, although had to withdraw due to personal reasons. She appeared on “The MMA Hour” this week and told Ariel Helwani she was left frustrated when the bout wasn’t rescheduled immediately.

“I didn’t know who I was going to fight. They gave us some dates but they didn’t give us any names,” said Anderson. “I didn’t know until Tuesday, so they could’ve come back with Cris or they could’ve come back with anyone.”

“I was just preparing for a date and then on Tuesday at about 5:20, right before I was about to start practice, I got the call with the Holly fight. It’s not Cris, but I’m finally happy to get back in the cage.”

Anderson was a guest on B.J. Penn Radio this week and spoke about how the UFC needs to sign more featherweights in the division to build the level of competition. As it stands, the women’s featherweight division is the only weight class in the UFC which has no rankings.

“I would love for the UFC to start signing more featherweights,” Anderson said. “You know, you have to build a division somehow. Why don’t you just sign all the featherweights that they have in Invicta right now and build from there? Divisions aren’t built overnight so let’s have a slow, steady intake of featherweights.”

“Let’s promote signing other featherweights because, at the end of the day, a division isn’t just solely made up of a few people,” she added. “In every division you need to have the bottom level, the middle tier, and the top tier, and that’s how you work your way up into the position I’m in. I was at the bottom and I worked my way up, and every division needs that. So whether there may be more middle of the road fighters than top, there’s nothing wrong with that because the only way that they can get to that top level is by fighting up. Taking those opportunities. So I just wish that they would back [the division]. Who knows what will happen in the next year or so.”