Jasmine Jasudavicius just beat Erin Blanchfield in front of a Canadian crowd, and she used the post-fight microphone to ask for new women’s flyweight champion Natalia Silva. It would be a rematch.
“I want Natalia Silva next. I think I’ve earned the title shot,” Jasudavicius told reporters Saturday after UFC Fight Night 291, according to MMA Junkie. The UFC News account on X posted the same line alongside her post-fight interview, so nobody can say she was hedging.
She also had a venue in mind. Jasudavicius floated a title fight in Toronto at UFC 336 and said that “makes sense.” She added that she and Silva “have some history, so that story would build pretty nice.” She didn’t spell out the history beyond that, and the matchup would be a second meeting.
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How the upset happened
Jasudavicius (16-4 MMA, 10-3 UFC) took a unanimous decision over Blanchfield (14-3 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the co-main event at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. She built her lead in the first two rounds, hunting multiple submissions against a fighter known for her grappling, then held on through the third while Blanchfield threw everything into a striking rally.
The betting line made it the biggest upset on the card. Blanchfield went off as a -340 favorite. Those are the odds you see when the books think a fight is a formality, and the home crowd in Alberta got to watch the formality fall apart.
Jasudavicius had some fun with the grappling angle afterward.
“It feels so good to have a win over obviously a very talented grappler. But they call me ‘Jasmine Nurmagomedov,’” she said.
She credited her training room for the edge, saying she spends her days competing with hungry up-and-comers, men and women, who keep her sharp. Then she went straight back to the belt, saying she looks forward to having it around her waist one day.
What’s next
Nothing is booked. Silva is the champion and the UFC hasn’t announced her first defense. Jasudavicius has done the part a contender controls: she won as a heavy underdog, said who she wants, and named the city. Toronto at UFC 336 gives the promotion a Canadian challenger with a fresh upset and a crowd that would be on her side.
My take: I’ll always like a fighter who answers the “who’s next” question with a name, a city and an event number. No emoji, no vague hints, just a straight answer. Beating a -340 favorite who’s an elite grappler, partly on the mat, carries more weight than a pile of wins over people nobody had heard of. If the UFC is headed to Toronto for UFC 336 and needs a flyweight title fight, the matchmakers have one sitting right there, and she’s already handed them the poster copy.
