Erin Blanchfield wants a title shot, but may have to wait after the inconclusive Noche UFC headliner.
Flyweight champion Alexa Grasso (16-3-1 MMA, 8-3-1 UFC) and Valentina Shevchenko (23-4-1 MMA, 12-3-1 UFC) battled to a split draw in their title-fight rematch this past Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Each fighter was awarded a 48-47 scorecard from a judge, while the third one turned in a 47-47 score, resulting in a split draw.
Blanchfield, who was in attendance, was hoping to call out the winner. But with talks of a trilogy already heating up, Blanchfield likely won’t be next. If a title shot isn’t next, Blanchfield is willing to fight fellow top contender Manon Fiorot next.
“I feel like I definitely should be next,” Blanchfield told The Schmo. “I feel like trilogies sometimes can clog up the divisions. Putting in some new blood for the title would be super helpful. I know Manon (Fiorot) is right behind me, so if anything, I could beat her up, too, if they did do a trilogy next. But I want to be next.”
Blanchfield scored the fight for Shevchenko, but would like to rewatch the fight to get a better gauge.
“That was a crazy fight,” Blanchfield said. “Sitting there, I thought Valentina won. I thought she did enough. I’ll definitely have to watch it back and see, but crazy fight. … I think she did (win 48-47). I’d have to watch it back to kind of remember what happened each round and see what girl capitalized on what. But in the moment, I thought Valentina won.”
The controversial scorecard that cost Shevchenko the fight was from judge Mike Bell, who gave Grasso a 10-8 in Round 5, which led to a draw on his tally. Blanchfield disagrees with his scoring.
“I don’t think it was a 10-8,” Blanchfield said. “Valentina was maybe covering up for a little bit too long. It did look bad in the moment, but I don’t think it was a 10-8.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Noche UFC.
