EBI Champion Erin Blanchfield has just been given a huge opportunity and will now fight in her first main event fight at UFC Vegas 69. She is a fantastic grappler who’s managed to use her elite-level Jiu-Jitsu skills to great effect in her MMA career so far, working her way right to the top ten of the UFC flyweight rankings. She was already booked to compete against fellow top-ten fighter Taila Santos at UFC Vegas 69 on February 18th, 2023 where the main event was going to be a fight between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera.
Unfortunately for fans, the fight between Sandhagen and Vera has been delayed by a month for undisclosed reasons and removed from the event as a result. Because the previous main event has been moved from the event, Blanchfield’s fight against Santos has been promoted to the main event instead. This is a huge moment in any fighter’s career, as it gives them the opportunity to reach an even bigger number of fans and grow their popularity within the MMA world. Given that Blanchfield is unbeaten in her first four UFC fights and Santos only just fought for the flyweight title in her last fight, this matchup and it’s new main event status could signal that the promotion has faith in her to carry this form through into future fights.
Blanchfield has come an incredibly long way in such a short time. It was just around two years ago that she signed her first UFC contract as a late-notice replacement, and now Erin Blanchfield is fighting in the main attraction at UFC Vegas 69. Given that she’s fighting a recent title-challenger in her division and already inside the top ten, it could be a huge year for Blanchfield if she does everything right and it’s not unreasonable to think she might be fighting for a title herself before the end of 2023.
