Fast facts
- Division: Women’s flyweight (UFC)
- Record: 14-2
- Nationality: United States (Elmwood Park, New Jersey)
- Team/gym: Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu
- Notable wins: Rose Namajunas, Jéssica Andrade, Tracy Cortez, Taila Santos, Molly McCann, JJ Aldrich
There’s a version of Erin Blanchfield’s life where she sits cageside with a headset on. Until 2021 she was studying Television and Digital Media at Montclair State University, concentrating in sports media, with the goal of becoming a commentator. That year she made her UFC debut instead, and the people with headsets have been describing her ever since.
She was 22 then. She’s 27 now, 8-1 inside the Octagon, ranked No. 3 at 125 pounds in the UFC’s rankings, and one of the few contenders whose name keeps coming up every time someone asks who gets the newly crowned champion. That question got a lot louder on October 3.
A kid from Elmwood Park
Blanchfield grew up in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, the daughter of George and Betsy Blanchfield. She started jiu-jitsu at seven. By nine she was competing in kickboxing and grappling tournaments, and at 12 she’d settled on what she wanted to do with her life, which was fight for a living. Her brother, Brendan, went into mixed martial arts too, so the Blanchfield house was apparently not a place where anyone needed convincing.
That early grounding shows in her trophy shelf. Before the UFC knew her name she won an Eddie Bravo Invitational title, the kind of submission-only grappling credential that tells you a fighter’s comfort zone sits a long way below the waistline of most of her opponents. She trains out of Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and the lineage fits.
The pro climb was regional and unglamorous. A win under Fighting Championships, then Invicta FC, where she took a split decision over Brittney Cloudy in March 2018 and a majority decision over Kay Hansen that November. In February 2019 at Invicta FC 34, she lost a split decision to Tracy Cortez. Hold onto that one.
She rebounded with a first-round submission of Gabriella Gulfin at Cage Fury FC 76, and in February 2020 at Invicta FC 39 she dropped Victoria Leonardo with a head kick in the second round and finished her with punches. Grapplers who can do that tend to get promoted.
The style
Blanchfield’s UFC numbers read like a scouting report written by a frustrated opponent. Against Miranda Maverick at UFC 269 in December 2021, she landed eight takedowns, a women’s flyweight record for a single fight. Her four UFC submissions sit second in division history behind Gillian Robertson. And the stat I keep coming back to: she has the second-lowest bottom position percentage in women’s flyweight history, at 0.44%.
Think about what that means for a grappler. Plenty of jiu-jitsu fighters are happy to work off their back. Blanchfield almost never ends up there. She takes you down and stays on top, and the finishes have come from all angles (a guillotine on JJ Aldrich in Round 2, a kimura on Molly McCann in Round 1, a rear-naked choke on Cortez in Round 2). Yahoo Sports named her its 2021 MMA Prospect of the Year, and MMA Fighting put her on its 2022 second-team All-Star list.
The fights that built the case
Her UFC start had a false beginning. She was set to debut on short notice at bantamweight against Norma Dumont in April 2021, but the bout was scrapped when Dumont missed weight by 3.5 pounds. She finally got in there that September and beat Sarah Alpar by unanimous decision, then ran off wins over Maverick, Aldrich and McCann.
The night that changed her standing came in February 2023 at UFC Fight Night 219. She was booked against Taila Santos, the fight got bumped to main event status after Cory Sandhagen vs. Marlon Vera was moved, and then Santos dropped out when her cornermen were denied U.S. visas. In stepped Jéssica Andrade, a former strawweight champion. Blanchfield submitted her in the second round and earned Performance of the Night. UFC.com later ranked it its No. 6 Submission of the Year. Six months after that, the Santos fight finally happened, and Blanchfield won a decision.
Then came Manon Fiorot in March 2024 at UFC on ESPN 54, and her first UFC loss, a unanimous decision. It ended a six-fight win streak, the fifth-longest in the division’s history.
What I respect is what came next. In November 2024 she went five rounds with Rose Namajunas, a two-time strawweight champion, and won a unanimous decision in a bout that was moved to co-main but kept its championship distance. In May 2025, she was minutes from walking out to face Maycee Barber in a main event when Barber withdrew because of a medical issue involving a seizure, and the fight was cancelled. Barber had already missed weight by half a pound, and a fine for 20 percent of Barber’s purse had been set to go to Blanchfield.
And then, at UFC 322 in November 2025, she got Cortez again. More than six years after that split decision at Invicta, Blanchfield choked her out in the second round. There’s no neater bookend in her career.
Where she stands
The division finally has a champion who fights. Valentina Shevchenko vacated the title because of injury, and at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City, Natalia Silva beat Wang Cong by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) to become the fourth UFC women’s flyweight champion.
The first-challenger debate started before the arena emptied. Alexa Grasso, ranked No. 2, has wins over Barber and Fiorot since losing to Silva at UFC 315 in May 2025. The Lindys Sports piece republished on Yahoo called a Silva vs. Grasso rematch the most likely booking, but argued that a Blanchfield win could put her right there, since she has never fought Silva and the UFC likes new matchups. Last Word on Sports, also via Yahoo, went further and called Blanchfield the most likely option. MMA Mania floated a Grasso vs. Blanchfield eliminator. Cageside Press listed the winner of Blanchfield’s next fight among the names looming over the new champion.
I’ll take a side. Blanchfield’s case was built over five years, through a debut that fell apart, a main event that evaporated at walkout time, a loss she answered with a Namajunas win, and a grudge she settled with a choke. That’s a résumé, and she has never had a crack at the belt. A champion this fresh deserves a fight that’s fresh too.
What’s next
She was supposed to fight No. 7 Jasmine Jasudavicius at UFC 330 on August 15 before withdrawing with an injury. The bout was rebooked for UFC Fight Night 291 in Edmonton, on the Buckley vs. Malott card, on October 17, 2026. Even the loser has a path; Heavy suggested she could be next for Wang. But Blanchfield isn’t fighting to be someone’s consolation booking. She walks out in Edmonton 11 days from now, with Silva’s belt two weeks old.
