Megan Anderson (born 11 February 1990) is an Australian former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

who competed in the women's

Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) and challenged for the Women's Featherweight's championship in March 2021. Anderson also competed for the all women's MMA league

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is current ...

, where she won the Invicta FC Featherweight Championship.

Early life

Anderson was born and raised on the

Gold Coast, Queensland The Gold Coast, also known by its initials, GC, is a coastal city and region in the state of Queensland, Australia, located approximately south-southeast of the centre of the list of Australian capital cities, state capital, Brisbane. It is ...

. She attended All Saints Anglican School throughout her upbringing and moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

at the beginning of 2008 to join the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

upon graduation from high school. After serving two and a half years in the military, she was discharged when it was discovered she had attempted to take her own life and was subsequently hospitalised. She then returned to the Gold Coast and worked as a

receptionist A receptionist is an Employment, employee taking an office or Business administration, administrative support position. The work is usually performed in a waiting room, waiting area such as a Lobby (room), lobby or front office desk of an organ ...

while getting involved in the local

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

scene. Through her boxing connections, she was introduced to mixed martial arts and began training in 2013.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In November 2013, Anderson made her professional MMA debut, losing to Zoie Shreiweis. Over the next two years, Anderson would build her record to four wins and one loss before signing to

Invicta FC

In her promotional debut in September 2015, Anderson faced Cindy Dandois at Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad. She lost the fight by submission (triangle choke). Anderson then proceeded to gain three wins in the promotion.

Invicta FC Featherweight Championship

On 14 January 2017, Anderson faced Charmaine Tweet for the Interim Invicta FC Featherweight Championship at Invicta FC 21. She won the fight by TKO in the second round. Anderson was later promoted from Interim to undisputed Featherweight Champion after

Cris Cyborg Cristiane Justino Venâncio (born July 9, 1985), known professionally as Cris Cyborg and formerly by her married name Cristiane Santos, is a Brazilian-American professional mixed martial artist and Professional boxing, professional boxer who com ...

vacated her belt. After the UFC opted against signing Anderson, Anderson was scheduled to defend her undisputed title against Helena Kolesnyk at Invicta FC 24, on 15 July 2017, but the fight never took place as Anderson was later signed by the UFC.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Anderson was scheduled to make her promotional debut against

UFC 214 ''UFC 214: Cormier vs. Jones 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship and held on July 29, 2017, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A PPV event was initially planned for Anaheim on Ja ...

on 29 July 2017. However, Anderson pulled out of the bout on 27 June, citing "personal issues" as the reason. She was replaced by

Tonya Evinger Tonya Evinger (born June 4, 1981) is an American mixed martial artist. She is currently signed with Global Fight League (GFL). A professional since 2006, Evinger has previously competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), EliteXC, Ragi ...

. Anderson faced Holly Holm on 9 June 2018 at UFC 225. She lost the fight via unanimous decision. Anderson faced

Cat Zingano Cat Zingano (née Albert; born July 1, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist, currently signed to Bellator MMA, competing in the Women's Featherweight division. Zingano also competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and on Apri ...

on 29 December 2018 at

UFC 232 ''UFC 232: Jones vs. Gustafsson 2'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that was held on December 29, 2018, at The Forum (Inglewood, California), The Forum in Inglewood, California. Background A UFC Ligh ...

. She won the fight via technical knockout early in the first round after a kick to Zingano caused an eye injury that didn't allow her to continue. Anderson faced promotional newcomer Felicia Spencer on 18 May 2019 at UFC Fight Night 152. She lost the fight via submission in the first round. Anderson faced Zarah Fairn on 6 October 2019 at

UFC 243 ''UFC 243: Whittaker vs. Adesanya'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on October 6, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. Background The event was the fourth th ...

. She won the fight via a submission in round one. Anderson faced Norma Dumont Viana on 29 February 2020 at

UFC Fight Night 169 ''UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 169'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 27'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 29, 2020 at Chartway Arena i ...

. She won the fight via knockout in round one. This win earned her the '' Performance of the Night ''award. Anderson was scheduled to face Amanda Nunes on 12 December 2020 for the

UFC Women's Featherweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight clas ...

UFC 256 ''UFC 256: Figueiredo vs. Moreno'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 12, 2020 at the UFC Apex facility in Enterprise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United ...

. However, it was announced on 9 November that Nunes pulled out due to an undisclosed injury and the bout was postponed to 2021. The pairing was rescheduled for 6 March 2021 at UFC 259. She lost the fight via a triangle armbar in round one. The title fight was the last fight of her prevailing six-fight contract and the organization opted not to renew it, making her a free agent. In February 2022, Anderson posted in her social media that she is no longer pursuing fights, and is not affiliated with any teams or organizations.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Performance of the Night (One time) **Tied ( Felicia Spencer & Norma Dumont) for most bouts in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (6) **Tied ( Felicia Spencer) for most finishes in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (3) **Tied (

and Felicia Spencer) for most knockouts in UFC Women's Featherweight division history (2) *

** Invicta FC Featherweight World Championship (one time; former) **Interim Invicta FC Featherweight World Championship (one time; former) **Performance of the Night (three times) vs.

Amanda Bell Amanda Bell (born August 3, 1988) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She previously competed in the Bellator MMA and Invicta FC. Mixed martial arts career Early career A well rounded athlete, Bell cur ...

, Peggy Morgan and Charmaine Tweet **Fight of the Night (one time) vs. Amber Leibrock

Reality show

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 11–5 , Amanda Nunes , Submission (reverse triangle armbar) , UFC 259 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:03 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Norma Dumont , KO (punch) , UFC Fight Night: Benavidez vs. Figueiredo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:31 ,

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 , Zarah Fairn , Submission (triangle choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 ,

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–4 , Felicia Spencer , Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: dos Anjos vs. Lee , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:24 ,

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–3 ,

, TKO (eye injury) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

Inglewood, California Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city had a population of 107,762. ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–3 , Holly Holm , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 225 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–2 , Charmaine Tweet , TKO (punches and head kick) , Invicta FC 21: Anderson vs. Tweet , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:05 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–2 , Peggy Morgan , TKO (punches) , Invicta FC 18: Grasso vs. Esquibel , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:09 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–2 ,

, TKO (head kick and punches) , Invicta FC 17: Evinger vs. Schneider , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish language, Spanish for "coastal tableland") is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–2 , Amber Leibrock , TKO (knees and punches) , Invicta FC 15: Cyborg vs. Ibragimova , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 2:33 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 4–2 , Cindy Dandois , Submission (triangle choke) , Invicta FC 14: Evinger vs. Kianzad , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:41 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Zoie Shreiweis , Submission (armbar) , Roshambo MMA 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:32 ,

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

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, Australia , , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 ,

Janay Harding Janay Harding (born September 28, 1994) is a New Zealand mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division. She is most notable for her time in Bellator MMA. Background Harding was born in Christchurch, New Zealand but moved to Aus ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Megan 1990 births Mixed martial artists from the Gold Coast, Queensland Living people Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Australian female mixed martial artists Featherweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Muay Thai Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian female Muay Thai practitioners Australian soldiers Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters People educated at All Saints Anglican School