Megan Anderson (fighter) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Megan Anderson |
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Anderson interviewed at UFC 232
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| Born | 11 February 1990 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) |
| Division | Featherweight |
| Reach | 72 in (183 cm) |
| Stance | Orthodox |
| Fighting out of | Lee's Summit, Missouri, US |
| Team | Glory MMA (2015–2021) |
| Rank | Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Years active | 2013–2021 |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Total | 16 |
| Wins | 11 |
| By knockout | 6 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
| Losses | 5 |
| By submission | 3 |
| By decision | 2 |
Megan Anderson (born on February 11, 1990) is an Australian who used to be a professional mixed martial artist. She competed in the women's Featherweight division. Megan fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and also in Invicta Fighting Championships. In Invicta FC, which is an all-women's MMA league, she won the Featherweight Championship. In March 2021, she even fought for the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship.
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Early Life and Training
Megan Anderson grew up on the Gold Coast, Queensland, in Australia. She went to All Saints Anglican School. After finishing high school in 2008, she moved to Canberra to join the Australian Army.
After serving for about two and a half years, she left the military. She then went back to the Gold Coast. There, she worked as a receptionist and started getting involved in local boxing. Through her boxing connections, she learned about mixed martial arts. She began training in MMA in 2013.
Mixed Martial Arts Career Highlights
Megan Anderson started her professional MMA career in November 2013. She won four fights and lost one in her first two years. After these early fights, she signed with Invicta Fighting Championships.
Fighting in Invicta FC
Megan's first fight in Invicta FC was in September 2015 against Cindy Dandois. She lost this fight by submission. However, after that, Megan went on to win three fights in a row in the promotion.
Winning the Invicta FC Featherweight Championship
On January 14, 2017, Megan Anderson fought Charmaine Tweet for the Interim Invicta FC Featherweight Championship. She won the fight by TKO (Technical Knockout) in the second round. Later, she became the official Featherweight Champion. This happened after the previous champion, Cris Cyborg, gave up her title.
Megan was supposed to defend her title against Helena Kolesnyk in July 2017. But this fight did not happen because Megan was then signed by the UFC.
Fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship
Megan Anderson was set to make her first UFC appearance against Cris Cyborg in July 2017. However, Megan had to withdraw from the fight due to personal reasons. Tonya Evinger took her place.
Her actual UFC debut was on June 9, 2018, against Holly Holm at UFC 225. Megan lost this fight by a decision from all the judges.
On December 29, 2018, Megan fought Cat Zingano at UFC 232. She won this fight very quickly in the first round. A kick to Zingano caused an eye injury, and Zingano could not continue.
Megan then faced Felicia Spencer on May 18, 2019. She lost this fight by submission in the first round.
On October 6, 2019, Megan fought Zarah Fairn at UFC 243. She won this fight by submission in the first round.
Megan's next fight was against Norma Dumont Viana on February 29, 2020. She won this fight by knockout in the first round. This impressive win earned her the Performance of the Night award.
Megan was scheduled to fight Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship in December 2020. But Nunes had an injury, so the fight was moved to March 6, 2021, at UFC 259. Megan lost this championship fight by a submission in the first round.
This title fight was the last one on her contract with the UFC. The organization decided not to offer her a new contract, making her a free agent. In February 2022, Megan shared on social media that she was no longer looking for fights. She also mentioned she was not part of any teams or organizations anymore.
Championships and Awards
Megan Anderson achieved several important awards and championships during her career.
Mixed Martial Arts Awards
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Performance of the Night (One time) for her fight against Norma Dumont.
- Tied for the most fights in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (6 bouts), along with Felicia Spencer and Norma Dumont.
- Tied for the most finishes (wins by knockout or submission) in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (3 finishes), along with Felicia Spencer.
- Tied for the most knockouts in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (2 knockouts), along with Cris Cyborg and Felicia Spencer.
- Invicta Fighting Championships
- Invicta FC Featherweight World Championship (one time; former champion).
- Interim Invicta FC Featherweight World Championship (one time; former interim champion).
- Performance of the Night (three times) for her fights against Amanda Bell, Peggy Morgan, and Charmaine Tweet.
- Fight of the Night (one time) for her fight against Amber Leibrock.
Television Appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Heroes & Superstars | Team Green | Heroes of Warland" |
Mixed Martial Arts Record
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 16 matches | 11 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 6 | 0 |
| By submission | 3 | 3 |
| By decision | 2 | 2 |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 11–5 | Amanda Nunes | Submission (reverse triangle armbar) | UFC 259 | 6 March 2021 | 1 | 2:03 | Las Vegas, Nevada, United States | For the UFC Women's Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 11–4 | Norma Dumont | KO (punch) | UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo | 29 February 2020 | 1 | 3:31 | Norfolk, Virginia, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 10–4 | Zarah Fairn | Submission (triangle choke) | UFC 243 | 6 October 2019 | 1 | 3:57 | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |
| Loss | 9–4 | Felicia Spencer | Submission (rear-naked choke) | UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee | 18 May 2019 | 1 | 3:24 | Rochester, New York, United States | |
| Win | 9–3 | Cat Zingano | TKO (eye injury) | UFC 232 | 29 December 2018 | 1 | 1:01 | Inglewood, California, United States | |
| Loss | 8–3 | Holly Holm | Decision (unanimous) | UFC 225 | 9 June 2018 | 3 | 5:00 | Chicago, Illinois, United States | |
| Win | 8–2 | Charmaine Tweet | TKO (punches and head kick) | Invicta FC 21: Anderson vs. Tweet | 14 January 2017 | 2 | 2:05 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Won the interim Invicta FC Featherweight Championship. Later promoted to undisputed champion. Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 7–2 | Peggy Morgan | TKO (punches) | Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel | 29 July 2016 | 1 | 4:09 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 6–2 | Amanda Bell | TKO (head kick and punches) | Invicta FC 17: Evinger vs. Schneider | 7 May 2016 | 1 | 5:00 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | Performance of the Night. |
| Win | 5–2 | Amber Leibrock | TKO (knees and punches) | Invicta FC 15: Cyborg vs. Ibragimova | 16 January 2016 | 3 | 2:33 | Costa Mesa, California, United States | Fight of the Night. |
| Loss | 4–2 | Cindy Dandois | Submission (triangle choke) | Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad | 12 September 2015 | 2 | 2:41 | Kansas City, Missouri, United States | |
| Win | 4–1 | Zoie Shreiweis | Submission (armbar) | Roshambo MMA 4 | 6 December 2014 | 1 | 1:32 | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Won the vacant Roshambo MMA Featherweight Championship. |
| Win | 3–1 | Jodie Struzik | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Nitro MMA 12 | 11 October 2014 | 2 | 0:30 | Logan City, Queensland, Australia | |
| Win | 2–1 | Kerry Barrett | Decision (majority) | Roshambo MMA 3 | 26 July 2014 | 3 | 3:00 | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | |
| Win | 1–1 | Janay Harding | Decision (unanimous) | FightWorld Cup 17 | 12 April 2014 | 3 | 3:00 | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | |
| Loss | 0–1 | Zoie Shreiweis | Decision (majority) | FightWorld Cup 16 | 16 November 2013 | 3 | 3:00 | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia |
See also
In Spanish: Megan Anderson para niños
