5 takeaways from UFC 250

Amanda Nunes retained the women's featherweight title with a unanimous decision win over Felicia Spencer in the UFC 250 main event Saturday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

In the co-headliner, former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returned to the cage and knocked out Raphael Assuncao in the second round. Also on the card, Aljamain Sterling choked out Cory Sandhagen in a 135-pound title eliminator.

Here are five takeaways from the event.

No challenges remain for Nunes

"Spencer is a true featherweight. She's bigger than Nunes. If she gets on top, she'll have a chance."

That's what some people were saying ahead of Nunes' title defense against Spencer on Saturday night, but the Brazilian left no doubt that she's by far the superior mixed martial artist by battering Spencer for five rounds. Nunes dominated Spencer on the feet and on the ground. And now, it's becoming increasingly apparent that actual challenges for "The Lioness" are few and far between.

The only fighter in the women's featherweight division who's even remotely close to deserving a title shot is Megan Anderson, and she lost to Spencer via first-round submission just over a year ago. There's no reason to think Anderson would have a chance against Nunes - so there's no reason to book that fight.

Women's bantamweight is obviously much deeper, but Nunes has beaten many of the top competitors for a total of five title defenses in the weight class. There are three fighters in the current top five that the champion has not yet faced - Aspen Ladd, Julianna Pena, and Irene Aldana - but all three seemingly need at least another win to earn a title shot. And even if Nunes went on to fight one, none of those matchups would be overly intriguing.

This is the biggest problem facing dominant champions - when they beat everyone, there's nothing left for them to do. And that's essentially the situation Nunes finds herself in. It could actually hurt her career if fans decide there's no need to tune into her fights. The only matchup that could garner some interest is a trilogy bout against current women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko, but it doesn't appear likely to happen anytime soon.

Sterling makes quite the statement

UFC president Dana White said ahead of Saturday's event that the bantamweight bout between Sterling and Sandhagen was a title eliminator.

But not everything White says ends up coming to fruition, and with ex-champ Garbrandt returning from a 15-month layoff in the co-main event, Sterling and Sandhagen needed to make a statement if they wanted to secure the next title shot.

That's exactly what Sterling did.

He attacked Sandhagen as soon as their main-card bout started, quickly getting hold of his opponent and sinking in a rear-naked choke. Just as Sandhagen tapped, he went unconscious.

Garbrandt had a great performance himself, knocking out longtime contender Raphael Assuncao in brutal fashion. But he entered the bout riding a three-fight skid, and he shouldn't jump the line.

After Sterling's fifth straight win, there's no denying "Funk Master" - he needs to fight the winner of Petr Yan versus Jose Aldo for UFC gold. He's done more than enough.

Garbrandt is back and could be a contender again

After Garbrandt suffered three straight knockout losses to TJ Dillashaw (twice) and Pedro Munhoz between 2017 and 2019, many people counted "No Love" out. That was after he put on the performance of a lifetime against Dominick Cruz in 2016 to win the 135-pound belt and appeared to be a potential star.

The 28-year-old has been widely criticized for getting reckless in his fights, leading to devastating losses, but he displayed a smarter approach against Assuncao. Garbrandt stayed back and picked his shots in the early moments, using solid timing to connect against the Brazilian.

And when the time was right, he landed a massive right hand at the second-round buzzer to put Assuncao out cold. Garbrandt badly needed a bounce-back win regardless of performance, but the victory was so impressive that he proved he can still be a contender in the division.

Garbrandt needs a couple more victories before he should be in consideration for another title shot. After all, there are many contenders at the top of the division. But he's absolutely back in the mix.

O'Malley is for real

If you had any doubts before Saturday that Sean O'Malley is a future contender in the bantamweight division, they should all be gone now.

"Sugar" knocked out veteran Eddie Wineland with a picture-perfect right in the first round. The fight was considered a step up in competition for the top prospect, as Wineland has been in the UFC for nine years and has fought the best of the best. O'Malley passed the test with flying colors - literally.

O'Malley spent just over two years out of the cage due to several issues with USADA, and that time off has done wonders for his career. The improvements were evident when O'Malley returned in March, and he backed that up on Saturday.

His power has increased, his striking has gotten more technical, and he boasts insane composure considering he's only 25 years old. If brought up in the division the right way - he fights the right opponents and continues to get more seasoning - O'Malley could develop into a serious threat. And a major star.

Hooper isn't UFC-level just yet, but that's OK

The UFC might've jumped the gun a bit on Chase Hooper, the 20-year-old prospect who was discovered on Dana White's Contender Series in 2018.

Hooper suffered his first professional loss in the UFC 250 featured preliminary bout, dropping a lopsided unanimous decision against 31-year-old veteran Alex Caceres.

"Bruce Leroy" was probably too steep of a test for Hooper to begin with, but based on the skills Hooper displayed inside the Octagon, he doesn't appear to be UFC-ready just yet. While his grappling could give some competitors serious problems - as Hooper showed in his UFC debut last December against Daniel Teymur - his striking is still rudimentary. He endured a significant amount of damage against Caceres, and it became clear that he needs to improve his defense and tighten up some major holes in his game.

But all of that is OK: Hooper won't enter his physical prime for another decade. He should be in no rush to move up the ranks and reach the top of the sport. Yes, he's beating fighters on the local circuit, so it makes sense that he joins the big leagues. But Hooper is still so young that he should actually choose to fight regional-level fighters and rack up experience.

Hooper's career ultimately needs to move slower than it has been over the past two years. If he takes the right approach, "The Dream" has some real potential.