Erin Blanchfield sat cageside in Denver as she watched two divisional rivals square off.
The feeling had been building for a while, but as she saw Rose Namajunas defeat Tracy Cortez, Blanchfield (12-2 MMA, 6-1 UFC) felt full-fledged ready to get back in there.
It’s been over three months since Blanchfield’s first UFC loss, a unanimous decision defeat to Manon Fiorot in her native state of New Jersey.
Not accustomed to losing, Blanchfield isn’t hard on herself for the loss. She had to go back into her psyche, to her youth, to remember how she deals with defeat, sure – but she compartmentalized it.
If she were to do it all over again, Blanchfield would’ve been more patient and stuck to her game plan. However, the takeaways weren’t all bad.
“It’s always weird losing when you’re not used to losing,” Blanchfield told MMA Junkie on Friday. “That’s something that I definitely wasn’t used to. I never lost in the UFC before. It all kind of sucks. Losing, no matter what level you’re on, sucks if you’re someone who is competitive and someone who really loves it and loves to do well in it. You really have to take it for what it is.
“There are things to learn from it. It’s not like I got walked in there and got knocked out in three seconds. There’s a lot I did do good and a lot I didn’t. It’s just like learning from any other fight. Obviously, that night it sucked. I’ve gotten over it pretty well. I’ve been competing my entire life. I’ve lost plenty before. It just hasn’t been that often. It has been a couple years since I lost last time. But I’ve just got to keep that same attitude I had when I was a kid: just keep going.”
Since her fight, Blanchfield’s name has been on the tips of multiple fighters’ tongues. Maycee Barber, Karine Silva, and Jasmine Jasudavicius all expressed interest in matchup. Jasudavicius, who competed in Denver, defeated Blanchfield’s teammate Fatima Kline and called out Blanchfield immediately thereafter.
Blanchfield’s doesn’t feel like taking that bait.
“She’s pretty low on the ladder, like 15,” Blanchfield said. “I’d rather not go that far back. I mean, if I couldn’t get any fight, of course I’d beat her up”
While Blanchfield indicated she’d fight any of those potential opponents, particularly Barber, the one that she’s hoping for is the fighter she saw victorious in Denver’s main event.
“I definitely feel like (the perfect next fight) is Rose,” Blanchfield said. “She’s a very good fighter, so it’s someone great to test my skills against and get better fighting her. I mean, she’s a former champ. That could easily be a main event of a Fight Night. I think that makes perfect sense.”
Namajunas, 32, rides a two-fight winning streak that includes wins over Cortez and Amanda Ribas. Blanchfield thinks she could halt that momentum if she continues to improve on the shortcomings from last fight.
“There would definitely be a different game plan,” Blanchfield said. “I’d have to sit down with my coaches and watch all the fights over and figure out what I’d want to do with that. But I feel like everything I’ve been trying to improve on what I wasn’t obviously able to implement in that fight and just getting better overall. She’s a completely different fighter. She’s a little shorter, coming up from 115, so she’s not a huge 125er. I think there would definitely be some different strategies to use in that fight.”
As for a timeline, Blanchfield targets fall. She wouldn’t mind fighting in her home region again. Although her Atlantic City outing was not successful, Blanchfield is 1-0 at Madison Square Garden – and hopes to repeat history there this November.
“The taxes are definitely not great, but I did love fighting at MSG last time,” Blanchfield said. “Obviously, it’s close to home and all my family and friends can come. It’s just obviously an iconic place. I’d just love to fight there as much as I could. So if that works out, I’d love to fight at MSG.”
