A Story of Reinvigoration and Resolve in Blanchfield vs Namajunas

By
Gabriel Gonzalez
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Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas, UFC Edmonton
Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas, UFC Edmonton face-off Credit: Jay Anderson/Cageside Press

Erin Blanchfield will look to return to the win column when she takes on former champion Rose Namajunas at UFC Edmonton.

Watch any hero’s journey, real or fictitious, and one of the hallmarks is that progress is rarely a straight line upward.  Erin Blanchfield, the UFC’s 25 year-old super prospect who became a bonafide contender in 2023, saw the trajectory of her graph take its first slump in a long while when she came up short in a five round effort against top contender Manon Fiorot this past March.  While it wasn’t the best night for Blanchfield, the UFC showed that they still had great hopes for the New Jersey native in booking her against one of the biggest names in any of the women’s divisions.

It can be argued that “Cold Blooded” enters the bout in a great position for a young contender to bounce back.  Not only can she build on what she learned from the bout with Fiorot, she still carries all of the high profile experience she’s accumulated before then.  Victories over a former champion like Jessica Andrade, former title challenger and current PFL tournament finalist Taila Santos, and Octagon vets like Molly McCann, Miranda Maverick, and more all served to build up Blanchfield’s skills across six UFC bouts.  Regardless of the championship resume behind her upcoming opponent by comparison, Blanchfield has as much seasoning as one can hope for in such a high-stakes bout.

After taking an extended absence going into 2023, Rose Namajunas has taken an active approach in 2024 as this will be her third fight (and headliner/co-headliner) this year.  The former strawweight champion has been vocal about having reconsidered continuing her career after having reached the summit and besting names like Hall of Famer Joanna Jędrzejczyk, reigning champion Zhang Weili (both women twice), and former champions and contenders like Jessica Andrade and Tracy Cortez.  At flyweight, she took her own setback against Fiorot when she returned to action last September.  Since then, she’s bounced back in superb fashion with strong performances against Cortez and Amanda Ribas.

Namajunas remains a high profile name at a time when the division feels poised for turnover.  Longtime champion (and notably former training partner of Namajunas) Valentina Shevchenko recently returned to her perch at the top of the division.  But rising stars Fiorot, Maycee Barber, and Natalia Silva are all on vying for that next shot at the belt.  A victory for Namajunas, in a similar fashion as her past two, would put her in a great position to stay ahead of her younger counterparts.

Given that Manon Fiorot has recent victories over both Erin Blanchfield and Rose Namajunas, it can be assumed that she will be next to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the title.  This Saturday’s winner, however, does figure to be the backup for said bout and either injury or schedule availability could lead to Blanchfield or Namajunas getting the next title shot outright.

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