Athletes
Erin Blanchfield Wants To Make The Most Of Her Chances
Ahead Of A Rematch With Tracy Cortez, Flyweight Phenom Erin Blanchfield Hopes To Earn A Shot At The Title With Her Performance At VeChain UFC 322
Erin Blanchfield has always worn the moniker “Cold Blooded” well. Although she first entered the Octagon as a 22-year-old, she fought with the composure of a veteran, and the results followed that lead as she picked up five wins within two years on the roster. In that span, she submitted a former champion in Jéssica Andrade, outdueled a former title challenger in Taila Santos and ran through fan-favorite Molly McCann in Madison Square Garden. Only now does she admit she was surprised when the New York City crowd seemed to favor the Liverpudlian over their neighbor from New Jersey, but she brushed off the boos and collected a first-round finish.
“I don't think I realized how much I was going to be booed and kind of, like, hated on going into that fight,” Blanchfield told UFC.com. “I could tell during ceremonials and then the walkout, it was pretty, pretty intense. But, you know, I think it was fun. I think it was character-building for sure. I'm excited to go fight again (and) this time hopefully have a little bit more love from the crowd. Even if not, I just love fighting here, so it's really fun.”
View Blanchfield's Athlete Profile
Blanchfield’s return to “The World’s Most Famous Arena” also marks her first fight of 2025 although she came as close to fighting earlier this year as one could without actually making the walk. The 26-year-old was scheduled to face Maycee Barber in a main event in May, but moments before Barber was to walk out, a medical issue forced “The Future” out of the fight.
It was a strange circumstance that left Blanchfield and her team with nothing to do but shrug and move on as best as they could, but in a sport so often predicated on opportunities and momentum, it was naturally frustrating to see a marquee chance evaporate in front of them. Two weeks ahead of that fight, flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defended her title against Manon Fiorot, and it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility for Blanchfield to have earned a title shot if she made a statement against Barber.
That’s relegated to a sliding door, however. Taking what positives she could from the training camp and fight week under the spotlight, she chugged along the best she could and waited for her next opportunity to reveal itself.
Fight By Fight Preview | VeChain UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev
“I mean, it wasn't ideal, but it happened,” she said. “Afterwards, I felt like it was kind of similar to how post-fights are. I kind of took my time to recover from camp and then got this fight set up, which was a great location, I think a great fight for me. I’m just excited for the next one.”
The “next one” in this case is a familiar face in Tracy Cortez. Blanchfield faced Cortez back in February 2019 when she was a 19-year-old sporting a 3-0 record. Cortez took home a split decision victory in what was her last fight on the regional circuit before getting the call to Dana White’s Contender Series. Since then, Cortez has gone 6-1 with wins over Jasmine Jasudavicius and Viviane Araújo.
Nearly seven years later, there isn’t much to take away from that fight for Blanchfield, who said her memories of the bout are rather faint.
Order VeChain UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev
“I feel like it almost feels like a different life,” she said. “It was so long ago, and I was so young. But I know I felt like after that fight, it really kind of locked me in, and I took everything a lot more serious because I knew what I wanted my goals to be, and I felt like I needed to reassess to be able to reach them. I feel like I've come so far since then. I did a really good job basically doing what I wanted to do after that loss that I'm excited now to come back and redeem that.”
Although Blanchfield isn’t necessarily looking at her rematch as a chance for “revenge,” the bout comes at a crucial time in the division with Zhang Weili vacating her strawweight belt to challenge Shevchenko for the flyweight title.
VECHAIN UFC 322 COUNTDOWN: Full Episode | Della Maddalena vs Makhachev | Shevchenko vs Zhang
Blanchfield believes Shevchenko will retain the throne on November 15, and her sights are set on her own chance to take the crown from “Bullet” in 2026.
“I think that really sets us up,” she said. “I have a really good performance Saturday that I can do for myself… I think it's always how you win your fights, too, when it comes to title pictures. You can win a bunch of fights, but if nobody is interested in them, you can kind of get lost fast. I definitely want to put on a great performance and show that I should have a title fight.”
VeChain UFC 322: Della Maddalena vs Makhachev took place live from Madison Square Garden Arena in New York, New York on November 15, 2025. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!
Tags