Erin Blanchfield (born May 4, 1999) is an American

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

currently competing in the

Flyweight Flyweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Flyweight is a class in boxing which includes fighters weighing above 49 kg (108 lb) and up to 51 kg (112 lb). Professional boxing The flyweight division was the last of bo ...

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC). She is a former Eddie Bravo Invitational champion. As of August 29, 2023, she is #2 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of September 5, 2023, she is #5 in the UFC women's pound-for-pound rankings.

Background

A native of

Elmwood Park, New Jersey Elmwood Park is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, and is a bedroom community, bedroom suburb located from New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's ...

, Blanchfield started training

jiu-jitsu Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...

at the age of seven. Two years later, she started competing in kickboxing and grappling tournaments. By the age of 12, she decided she wanted to be a professional fighter.

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Blanchfield fought under Fighting Championships and amassed a record of 1–0 prior to being signed by

Invicta Fighting Championships Invicta Fighting Championships, also known as Invicta FC, is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion dedicated to Women's mixed martial arts that was founded in 2012 by Janet Martin and Shannon Knapp. The promotion is currentl ...

Invicta Fighting Championships

Blanchfield made her Invicta debut on March 17, 2018, against Brittney Cloudy at Invicta FC 30. She won the fight by split decision. Her next fight came on November 16, 2018, facing

Kay Hansen Kaylyn Susan Hansen (born August 14, 1999) is an American Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the Strawweight (MMA), strawweight division of Invicta Fighting Championships She also formerly fought in Ultimate Fighting ...

at Invicta FC 32. She won the fight via majority decision. On February 15, 2019, Blanchfield faced

Tracy Cortez Tracy Cortez (born December 10, 1993) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of March 7, 2023, she is #14 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings. Background Of Mexi ...

at Invicta FC 34. She lost the fight via split decision. Blanchfield faced Gabriella Gulfin on June 4, 2019 at Cage Fury Fighting Championships 76. She won the fight via submission in round one. On February 7, 2020, Blanchfield returned to Invicta, facing

Victoria Leonardo Victoria Leonardo Mason (born February 16, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born in the Pomona section of Galloway Township, New Jersey, Leonard ...

at Invicta FC 39. In the second round Blanchfield dropped Leonardo with a head kick, finishing off the technical knockout victory with punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Blanchfield was expected to make her UFC debut as a short notice replacement for

Bea Malecki Bea Malecki (born August 23, 1991) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who competes in the Bantamweight division. A professional since 2017, she is most notable for her time in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Malecki's parents ...

against

Norma Dumont Norma Dumont Viana Ferreira (born October 1, 1990) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist in the Featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Profes ...

on April 10, 2021 at UFC on ABC: Vettori vs. Holland in a Bantamweight bout. In turn, the bout was pulled from the card by after Dumont missed weight by 3.5lbs. Blanchfield faced Sarah Alpar on September 18, 2021 at UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann. She won the fight via unanimous decision. Blanchfield was expected to face

Maycee Barber Maycee Kaye Barber (born May 18, 1998) is an American mixed martial artist. She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of November 15, 2022, she is #12 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings. ...

, replacing

Montana De La Rosa Montana De La Rosa (née Stewart) (born February 14, 1995) is an American mixed martial artist (MMA). She currently competes in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background De La Rosa was born in Helena, Montana ...

, on December 11, 2021 at

UFC 269 ''UFC 269: Oliveira vs. Poirier'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on December 11, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada, part of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area, United State ...

. However, Barber withdrew in early November due to undisclosed reasons, and she was replaced by

Miranda Maverick Miranda Rachelle Maverick (born July 1, 1997) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She competed in Flyweight division of the Invicta Fighting Championships. As of ...

. Blanchfield won the fight by unanimous decision. She furthermore set the women’s flyweight single-fight takedown record, with eight total takedowns. Blanchfield faced

JJ Aldrich JJ Aldrich (born September 29, 1992) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division. She is currently signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and has fought for Invicta FC. Background Aldrich was born to a ho ...

on June 4, 2022 at

UFC Fight Night 207 ''UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 207'' and ''UFC on ESPN+ 65'' or ''UFC Vegas 56'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on June 4, 2022, at the ...

. She won the bout via guillotine choke in the second round. Blanchfield faced

Molly McCann Molly McCann (born 4 May 1990) is an English mixed martial artist. She is a former Cage Warriors Flyweight Champion and currently competes in the women's flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Early life McCann was born ...

on November 12, 2022 at

UFC 281 ''UFC 281: Adesanya vs. Pereira'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on November 12, 2022, at the Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, United States. Background A UFC Middle ...

. She won the fight via a kimura submission in the first round. Blanchfield was scheduled to face

Taila Santos Taila Santos (born June 22, 1993) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who competes in the Flyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of June 13, 2022, she is #2 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and as of November 15, 202 ...

on February 18, 2023 at

UFC Fight Night 219 ''UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 219'', ''UFC on ESPN+ 77'', and ''UFC Vegas 69'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on February 18, 2023, at ...

. When the main event fight between Cory Sandhagen and Marlon Vera was rescheduled for another event, Blanchfield's fight against Santos was moved up to serve as the main event. Santos dropped out of the bout after her cornermen were denied visas into the United States, and was replaced by

Jéssica Andrade Jéssica Fernanda da Costa Andrade (born September 25, 1991) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. Andrade is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she competes in the women's Flyweight division and is a ...

. Blanchfield won the fight via submission in round two. This win earned her the ''

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

''award. The match with

was rebooked and took place on August 26, 2023, at UFC Fight Night 225. Blanchfield won the bout via unanimous decision.

Personal life

Until 2021 Blanchfield was studying Television and Digital Media with a concentration in sports media at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

, with an aim to becoming a commentator. Blanchfield is the daughter of George and Betsy Blanchfield, and has one brother, Brendan, who is also a mixed martial artist.

Championships and accomplishments

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

*Eddie Bravo Invitational **Eddie Bravo Invitational Champion (One time)

Mixed martial arts

(One time) ** Tied (

Manon Fiorot Manon Fiorot (born February 17, 1990) is a French mixed martial artist, currently competing in the Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of February 27, 2022, she is #1 in the UFC women's flyweight rankings, and #11 ...

) for the second longest win streak in UFC Women's Flyweight division history (6) ** Tied (

& Karine Silva) for second most submissions in UFC Women's Flyweight division history (3) *

**Performance of the Night (Two times) vs.

, Brogan Walker-Sanchez

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 12–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs. The Korean Zombie , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the no ...

, Singapore , , - , - , Win , align=center, 11–1 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 ,

, Submission (kimura) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:37 ,

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC Fight Night: Volkov vs. Rozenstruik , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:38 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–1 , Sarah Alpar , Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Smith vs. Spann , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 , Brogan Walker-Sanchez , Decision (unanimous) , Invicta FC 41: Morandin vs. Ruiz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 ,

, KO (head kick and punches) , Invicta FC 39: Frey vs. Cummins II , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:06 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 , Gabriella Gulfin , Submission (americana) , Cage Fury FC 76 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:20 ,

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 ,

, Decision (split) , Invicta FC 34: Porto vs. Gonzalez , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 ,

, Decision (majority) , Invicta FC 32: Spencer vs. Sorenson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Brittney Cloudy , Decision (split) , Invicta FC 30: Frey vs. Grusander , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Whittany Pyles , TKO (doctor stoppage) , Cage Fury FC 70 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , -

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchfield, Erin Living people 1999 births American female mixed martial artists Flyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing kickboxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Mixed martial artists from New York (state) 21st-century American women Ultimate Fighting Championship female fighters