One of the best prospects in women's MMA history is surely now a title contender.
Women's flyweight phenom Erin Blanchfield submitted former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade with a rear-naked choke at the 1:37 mark of the second round in the UFC Fight Night main event Saturday in Las Vegas.
This was the first main event of Blanchfield's UFC career and easily the 23-year-old's biggest win to date.
Andrade stepped in on one week's notice after Taila Santos withdrew. Andrade was coming off a dominant win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 in January.
After the fight, Blanchfield called for a title shot against the winner of champion Valentina Shevchenko versus Alexa Grasso, which takes place at UFC 285 on March 4.
"I'm going to win the title and be the UFC champion," Blanchfield said in her postfight interview when asked what would happen if she faces the Shevchenko-Grasso winner.
While Blanchfield's bread and butter - her Brazilian jiu-jitsu - ultimately earned her the victory, she looked surprisingly strong in the striking department, too. Blanchfield went after Andrade right away, using her length to land sharp punches with consistency. Andrade, known as one of the hardest hitters in women's MMA, kept the first round close by landing a few powerful shots herself.
Andrade stopped multiple takedown attempts in Round 1 but failed to do so in the second. Blanchfield dragged the Brazilian down a little over a minute into the frame and immediately advanced to side control. It wasn't long before Blanchfield sunk in the submission and forced the tap.
Blanchfield is now 5-0 in the Octagon since debuting in 2021. She entered the fight as the No. 10-ranked women's flyweight, while Andrade sat at No. 3. Santos and Manon Fiorot are tied for first, while Grasso is fifth.
Andrade, who held UFC strawweight gold in 2019 and has bounced between strawweight and flyweight in recent years, saw her three-fight winning streak end. This was her first loss since challenging Shevchenko for the 125-pound title in April 2021.
