Felicia Spencer’s Corner Should Have Thrown In The Towel In UFC 250 Loss To Amanda Nunes

One of the hot topics that came out of the May 13 matchup between Anthony Smith and Glover Teixeira was the question of when it’s appropriate for a fighter’s corner to throw in the towel. That discussion was reopened last night after UFC women’s featherweight champion Amanda Nunes, put an uncomfortable amount of damage on Felicia Spencer in the main event of last night’s UFC 250 pay-per-view card.

The calls for Spencer’s team to end the fight began at the end of the third round. By that time, Nunes had landed 75 significant strikes and taken down Spencer three times. On the ESPN+ streaming broadcast, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier said he thought it was too early to throw in the towel.

After Spencer absorbed 34 more significant strikes in the fourth stanza and been taken to the mat again, Cormier changed his tune. 

Despite the one-sided nature of the fight, Spencer’s corner didn’t seem to consider ending the contest. They sent her back out to finish the fight. Spencer lasted the entire five rounds, but she was never in the contest and by the end of the first three rounds she didn’t have a path to victory. Her corner failed her by allowing her to take unnecessary damage over the final 10 minutes of the 25-minute title fight. 

Many UFC fighters expressed their opinions on Spencer’s corner on social media. 

There has always been an aversion to throwing in the towel in MMA. The culture of the sport needs to change before someone gets seriously injured or dies. If a fighter has no clear path to victory and is doing nothing but taking damage, there is no shame in considering the health of a fighter and ending the contest early. MMA needs to learn this lesson before it’s too late. 

UFC 250 took place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas. Nunes defended her UFC women’s featherweight title with a unanimous decision win over Spencer in the headlining bout.