The UFC Women's Flyweight Title Picture

Let's be honest: Erin Blanchfield (one of my favorite MMA fighters) deserves the next flyweight title shot after three submission wins and a hard-fought decision victory over a former title challenger in Taila Santos.

However, as much as it pains me to say it, in a continuation to the up-and-down 2023 she's had, that probably won't happen. 
Case in point: her bout against Santos was stuck behind Nakamura v. Garcia AND Chikadze v. Caceres AND a Smith v. Spann rematch, whereas the Fiorot v. Namajunas bout is the co-main at UFC Paris. In the UFC's eyes, they have a winner that they want competing for the title, especially if that fight ends with a stoppage (I'll explain).

For Erin Blanchfield fans like myself, this has been an interesting year.
1. It was looking up in February- she'd submitted a former strawweight champion and flyweight title challenger in Andrade and was looking to be next in line to face Shevchenko after Shevchenko defeated Grasso.
2. Then Grasso submitted Shevchenko, meaning there would be an immediate rematch and Blanchfield would play the waiting game.
3. While this was going on, a flyweight bout between Maycee Barber and Amanda Ribas was booked (and Barber won by stoppage).
4. Blanchfield was rebooked against Santos, and my immediate thought when I saw the fight announcement was "well, a loss puts her title shot plans on ice for a while".
5. Blanchfield defeats Taila Santos by decision, opening the door for either Manon Fiorot or Rose Namajunas (who are competing in this weekend's co-main event) to call for a title fight of their own with a finish, which means that Blanchfield might need a seventh fight before fighting for the title.
6. I don't even want to think about what will happen if Shevchenko defeats Grasso by razor-close decision (update: yay- a freakin' draw, you guys, which means- wait for it- a rematch!). 

Now, Blanchfield is still going to be a champion, it just might take a little bit longer than one would hope. 
But that's MMA for you- fortunes can change on a dime. 



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