Who Will Win the Highly Anticipated Women’s Flyweight Matchup at UFC 322?
Erin Blanchfield has proven to everyone time and again that she has all the potential to be a world champion one day. She hasn’t backed down from anyone and has beaten multiple former champions on her path up the rankings and into the top five of the Flyweight Division. She is taking on a woman whom she faced in 2019 before either were in the UFC in Tracey Cortez. These women have very similar styles, and it should be interesting to see how both have developed so many years and fights later. Will Cortez once again come out on top, or will Blanchfield get her back on her way towards a title shot?
Blanchfield has always been looked at as a one-trick pony for most of her career. She is a pressure fighter who likes to use her striking to get in close to her opponent and shoot takedown after takedown before finally getting the fight to the ground. She has suffocating top pressure and likes to keep busy, landing damage, and is aggressive, looking for submissions. Her cardio is off the charts, and she showed that in full display in her fight against Talio Santos, where she shot 14 takedowns and didn’t land a single one but was able to wear her opponent down enough to get her hand raised. At only 26 years old, she has even more time to develop her skills, but her striking has come a long way since she first entered the UFC. Against an opponent she is familiar with and also is a heavy wrestler as well, I think we will see her being the fighter moving forward and shooting constantly, as she has probably watched Cortez fight against Rose Namajunas and seen how easily she was able to take Tracey down throughout that fight. Tracey is tough, especially off her back, but I think Erin is going to be too big and strong for her this time around, and I see her being even more aggressive, looking for a finish to make a statement and finally claim her first title shot opportunity.
Tracey Cortez has had a solid UFC career so far. She is 7-1 in the UFC with her only loss coming to former champion Rose Namajunas. She was outclassed in that fight, especially in the wrestling department, which is supposed to be where she thrives. She looked impressive in her last fight against Viviane Araujo, where she pitched a perfect shutout on her way to a decision victory. For as heavy wrestling-based as these fighters are, they both don’t have the best takedown defense. Tracey will need to use Erin’s aggressiveness to time her entries and shoot her own takedown and get this fight to the ground. Tracey’s Jujitsu is her best weapon, so if he is on top, you are in a world of trouble. Striking can also be to her advantage if she can somehow keep this fight in her range and on the outside. If she circles from Erin, she can slowly pick her apart. This fight is a lot closer than the odds have it, and I think Tracey, with the right game plan, can beat Erin once again.
This is an exciting Flyweight matchup between two fighters eagerly hoping to get their first crack at a world title opportunity. With Valentina Shevchenko defending her title against Zhang Weili on the same card, one of these women can propel themselves into a title shot next. The fight should have a ton of entertaining scrambles and reversals once either fighter gets the other to the ground. Whichever way this fight goes, you're not going to want to miss it and all the other great action. It all goes down this Saturday, November 15th, with a main card start time of 8:00 p.m. EST.
