Erin Blanchfield expects to be next for a title shot after UFC Atlantic City this weekend but has two names in mind if timelines force her to take one more fight.
Many within the MMA community see this weekend’s main event between Erin Blanchfield and Manon Fiorot to be a number-one contender fight for the UFC flyweight title.
However, with champion Alexa Grasso busy with TUF 32 and an expected trilogy against Valentina Shevchenko later in the year, Blanchfield knows she might have to earn one more win in the meantime, regardless of how UFC Atlantic City ends.
Erin Blanchfield headlines UFC Atlantic City against Manon Fiorot
Headlining UFC Atlantic City this weekend is 12-1 American and #2 ranked flyweight Erin Blanchfield, taking on the #3 ranked 11-1 French contender, Manon Fiorot.
The New Jersey native is riding an outstanding nine-fight winning streak heading into the bout, and speaking to Kevin Iole via his official YouTube channel, noted that she has the right gameplan for wherever the fight ends up:
“I see my advantages from everywhere, I know that I have strategies for striking, wrestling, Jui-jitsu – no matter where the fight goes, I know I can win it…I feel like my goal is always to win impressively, no matter what is at stake, but obviously, a really impressive win and a finish Saturday leaves no doubt.”
Blanchfield has backup plans just in case she needs one more win
Should Blanchfield earn that impressive victory over Fiorot in Atlantic City, she’ll be considered by many to be the rightful next contender to Alexa Grasso’s flyweight championship.
Yet with Grasso busy with The Ultimate Fighter and her trilogy fight against Shevchenko expected for September, Blanchfield could be faced with a conundrum: wait out much of the year for the winner, or take another fight in the meantime against another big name…
Unsurprisingly, ‘Cold Blooded’ would prefer to keep the momentum going; telling Kevin Iole that “I’d rather stay active, [since] you never know what’s going to happen.”
“Obviously, I’d love a title shot next if that was possible, but you never know and I’d rather stay active, keep improving, keep fighting so yeah if I had to fight again then I would fight.”
The 24-year-old stated that “there’s a couple options that could happen,” one of which would be a potential matchup against former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas – who earned a decision win over Amanda Ribas last week.
“Obviously Rose is a former champ and a big name so that would be an awesome fight,” said Blanchfield, before a second name was put out there as Plan C: “But it’d be nice to fight Maycee [Barber] too, and be able to beat her up.”
“I think we were matched up in the past and she pulled out, then I think she started talking about me being lower in the rankings, this, and that. Then over the years this has grown into more and more.”
Despite having never met face-to-face, Blanchfield knows that the pair will come to blows in the UFC octagon at some point, stating that “One day we’ll fight, and I’ll beat her up.”
Erin Blanchfield vs Manon Fiorot is the main event of this weekend’s UFC Atlantic City, scheduled for Saturday, March 30.