Manon Fiorot wants to be the one to end Erin Blanchfield’s hype.
For Fiorot (10-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC), Alexa Grasso dethroning flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko and the pair immediately rematching worked out for her. Although she’s currently the No. 1 contender, Fiorot was planning on competing at least once more before fighting for the title after undergoing knee surgery.
Highly touted prospect Blanchfield is also eyeing a title shot, so Fiorot says it makes sense for them to meet in an eliminator matchup.
“For me, it’s perfect,” Fiorot said in an interview with RMC. “It allows me to do a return fight first. It’s really good that things are shaping up like that. We told ourselves that we could fight Taila Santos or Erin Blanchfield. The two of them are good, but I particularly want to fight Blanchfield because of all the hype around her.”
Blanchfield emerged as a top contender after scoring back-to-back dominant finishes over Molly McCann and former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade. But Fiorot thinks Blanchfield is still unproven.
“For me, she hasn’t really proved herself,” Fiorot said. “I want to show her what the top of the division is really like, a true 125-pounder, because she didn’t really face girls with a big physique. She accepted to fight Jessica Andrade, who weighed less than the flyweight limit on fight day, around 123 pounds. Andrade took the fight on one weeks’ notice. She had just fought and was absolutely not well prepared. She also explained she had a problem during the fight, that she couldn’t breathe well.
“And it showed. She got up against the cage in the second round and gave her back. I’d like to face Blanchfield to show her what it is to fight someone prepared and someone at the top of the division. There’s a time where you have to face some girls and win against them to prove yourself. They did the same thing with Maycee Barber. They kept hyping her until she lost a fight and it ended. Blanchfield’s hype is gonna last until she faces me, at best. So, it’s not going to last.”
Despite her criticism of Blanchfield’s resume, Fiorot admits she rate Blanchfield’s skills highly.
“She’s really good, and she may become champion one day,” Fiorot added. “I don’t say otherwise, but it will be after me.”
