Erin Blanchfield rallies to beat Rose Namajunas

Erin Blanchfield turned up the volume, aggressiveness and damage just in time to get the win.

After a lackluster start in two rounds, Blanchfield (13-2 MMA, 7-1 UFC) rallied in the final three rounds of the co-main event of UFC Fight Night 246 on Saturday to defeat former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas (13). -7 MMA, 11- 6 UFC) by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47). The women's flyweight bout was the co-main event at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Namajunas confounded Blanchfield in the first 10 minutes with his footwork, jabs and movement. Blanchfield appeared to be the much slower fighter and appeared to be stuck in a similar loop to the unsuccessful game plan execution reflected in her loss to Manon Fiorot in March.

However, Blanchfield began to come alive in round 3 when she defeated and controlled Namajunas. In round 4, Blanchfield's punching power came into its own as Namajunas seemed to lose volume and attack power.

In the fifth round, Blanchfield's corner lit a fire under the fighter and she came out swinging with full aggression. She took down Namajunas and got into the crucifix position. Namajunas defended well but was in a non-dominant position for the rest of the fight.

When the dust settled, Blanchfield had swept the jury. She was emotional on the mic, but still challenged former champion Alexa Grasso, who she wants to face next.

Blanchfield is recovering from her first UFC loss, which she suffered against Fiorot in March. The loss was a pretty one-sided unanimous decision. Before this rocky race, Blanchfield earned victories over Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick, JJ Aldrich, Molly McCann, Jessica Andrade and Taila Santos.

As for Namajunas, her two-fight winning streak is broken. She improves to 2-2 since moving to flyweight in 2023.

Current UFC Fight Night 246 results include:

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

For more information on the card, check out MMA Junkie's UFC Fight Night 246 event hub.