UFC Vegas 42 video: Felicia Spencer punishes Leah Letson before ending fight with vicious ground and pound

Felicia Spencer returned to the win column at UFC Vegas 42 after a lopsided performance against Leah Letson.

The former featherweight title contender was in complete control as she mauled Letson against the fence with her powerful clinch game, which included a barrage of punches and elbows. The fight mercifully came to an end after Spencer finally earned a late takedown, which then led to some vicious ground and pound with the referee finally jumping in to rescue Letson from further damage.

The stoppage came at 4:25 in the third and final round.

“Going back to where I’m most successful,” Spencer said about her strategy. “I expected a really tough opponent tonight and definitely got it. I was surprised by her toughness at all. I‘m always ready for a war.”

Spencer wasted no time closing the distance and pressuring Letson against the cage as she worked for the takedown while also peppering away with punches from the inside. Letson was strong with her takedown defense but she was still stuck with Spencer keeping her trapped in the clinch.

Spencer was relentless as she continued to punish Letson with punches and elbows from the inside, which left the former Ultimate Fighter competitor with blood streaming from her nose as the first round ended.

There was no mystery to the strategy from Spencer as she continuously bullied Letson around the cage as she worked for takedowns to apply her grappling game. Letson did a good job either fending off Spencer’s wrestling but she wasn’t doing much else to actually mount any kind of comeback.

Late in the second round just before the horn sounded, Spencer blasted Letson with a well-timed knee that sent her to the corner with even more confidence.

After countering a takedown from Letson early in round three, Spencer just started unloading with punches that could have potentially earned her a finish. Letson somehow kept finding a way to survive but she was just getting beat up in every way shape and form during the fight.

Finally with less than a minute remaining, Spencer secured a takedown, moved onto the mount and just started hammering down with punches and elbows that gave the referee no choice but to stop the fight.

While the future of the featherweight division in the UFC still remains a mystery, Spencer proved she’s still going to be a dangerous out for anybody at 145 pounds after securing another impressive win on Saturday in Las Vegas.