Jasmine Jasudavicius beat Erin Blanchfield by unanimous decision in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 291 on Saturday at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. All three judges scored it 29-28 for the Canadian, who took one of the top contenders at 125 pounds down, climbed onto her back and stayed there for long stretches of the first two rounds. Cageside Press, Yahoo Sports and MMA Mania all called it an upset, and MMA Mania noted it derailed Blanchfield’s potential title shot.
The opening round set the tone. Blanchfield had early success behind her jab, then Jasudavicius shot, got the takedown, kept Blanchfield pinned to the fence as she tried to stand and eventually lifted and slammed her to the mat. From there she took the back, locked a body triangle and worked chokes for close to three minutes, per Yahoo Sports. When she couldn’t get her arm under the chin, she settled for a face crank, which Cageside Press described as uncomfortable but not fight-ending.
Round 2 was a better grappling exchange, and the more impressive one for Jasudavicius. Blanchfield came out with punches and a body kick and tried a takedown of her own against the fence that went nowhere. Jasudavicius landed a clean right hand, then hit a single leg. The scrambles that followed were real, and Blanchfield briefly reversed into side control, but Jasudavicius took the back again, reset the body triangle, attacked an arm-triangle choke and closed the round with strikes from top position.
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Blanchfield owned most of Round 3 on the feet, landing her jab and right hands while Jasudavicius stood with her and didn’t try a takedown for the first three minutes. With less than 90 seconds left, Jasudavicius finally changed levels, drove Blanchfield into the fence and dragged her down to bleed the clock.
Records and what’s next
Jasudavicius moves to 16-4 overall and 10-3 in the UFC. She’s now 7-1 over her past eight octagon appearances, with the only loss coming to Manon Fiorot in October 2025, and this was her second straight win since. UFC News posted on X that the victory ties her with champion Natalia Silva for the most women’s flyweight wins since 2022, with nine. Blanchfield drops to 14-3 overall and 8-2 in the promotion.
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Jasudavicius made her intentions clear in her post-fight interview with Paul Felder. “I feel unbelievable,” she said. “I want to cross paths with Natalia Silva again. We have a history.”
The reaction to Blanchfield was harsh. Jed Meshew wrote on X that he had expected her to become champion and now doesn’t believe she’ll ever fight for the title, calling it an “Astonishingly poor performance.” Aaron Bronsteter pointed out on X that Jasudavicius was only a year younger than Blanchfield is now when she took her first martial arts class.
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My take: the cards were right, and I’ll give the judges credit for keeping Round 1 a 10-9 even with three minutes of back control, because Blanchfield never looked close to tapping. What sells me on Jasudavicius is the second round. Taking the back once on a black belt can be a lucky scramble. Losing position to side control and then winning the back again through another scramble is skill, and it’s exactly the kind of work Blanchfield was supposed to be better at. She didn’t need Round 3, and she knew it, so she stood and took her lumps until the clock made her decision for her. If the UFC is building the flyweight title picture around wins at 125, nine of them since 2022 is a hard résumé to argue with.
