Erin Blanchfield rallies to beat Rose Namajunas

Erin Blanchfield turned up the quantity, aggression and harm simply in time to get the victory.

After a lackadaisical opening two rounds, Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) rallied within the last three of the UFC Struggle Night time 246 co-main occasion Saturday to defeat former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (13-7 MMA, 11-6 UFC) by unanimous determination (48-47, 48-47, 48-47). The ladies’s flyweight bout was the co-main occasion at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Namajunas puzzled Blanchfield with footwork, jabs, and motion within the first 10 minutes. Blanchfield appeared the a lot slower fighter and gave the impression to be caught on an identical loop as to the unsuccessful recreation plan execution that transpired in her loss to Manon Fiorot in March.

Blanchfield started to come back alive in Spherical 3, nevertheless, when she took Namajunas down and managed her. In Spherical 4, Blanchfield’s placing discovered its residence as Namajunas appeared to gradual in quantity and assault of her personal.

Spherical 5, Blanchfield’s nook lit a fireplace beneath its fighter and he or she got here out swinging with full aggression. She took Namajunas down and entered the crucifix place. Namajunas defended properly, however ended up in a non-dominant place for the rest of the struggle.

When the mud settled, Blanchfield had swept the judges. She was emotional on the microphone, however nonetheless issued a problem to former champion Alexa Grasso, who she’d wish to struggle subsequent.

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Blanchfield bounces again from her first UFC loss, which got here in opposition to Fiorot in March. The defeat was a reasonably lopsided unanimous determination. Previous to that bump within the street, Blanchfield racked up wins over Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick, JJ Aldrich, Molly McCann, Jessica Andrade and Taila Santos.

As for Namajunas, her two-fight profitable streak is snapped. She strikes to 2-2 since transferring to flyweight in 2023.

Up-to-the-minute UFC Struggle Night time 246 outcomes embrace:

• Erin Blanchfield def. Rose Namajunas through unanimous determination (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
• Brendson Ribeiro def. Caio Machado through cut up determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Jasmine Jasudavicius def. Ariane da Silva through submission (D’Arce choke) – Spherical 3, 2:28
• Dustin Stoltzfus def. Marc-Andre Barriault through knockout (punches) – Spherical 1, 4:28
• Mike Malott def. Trevin Giles through unanimous determination (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
• Aiemann Zahabi def. Pedro Munhoz through unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Charles Jourdain def. Victor Henry through submission (guillotine choke) – Spherical 2, 3:43
• Youssef Zalal def. Jack Shore through submission (arm-triangle choke) – Spherical 2, 0:59
• Alexandr Romanov def. Rodrigo Nascimento through unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Serhiy Sidey def. Garrett Armfield through cut up determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Cody Gibson def. Chad Anheliger through unanimous determination (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Jamey-Lyn Horth def. Ivana Petrovic through cut up determination (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)

For extra on the cardboard, go to MMA Junkie’s occasion hub for UFC Struggle Night time 246.