Jessica Andrade is stepping in on late notice this weekend against Erin Blanchfield in a five round flyweight main event at the UFC Apex.
Last week Talia Santos dropped out of the main event because her cornerman’s visa got declined. Thankfully Andrade stepped up.
Andrade is coming off a 3-round mauling of Lauren Murphy in Brazil at UFC 283, and Blanchfield is coming off a submission win over Liverpool’s own Molly ‘meatball’ McCann, so in this article, we’ll go over the keys to victory for Andrade.
Jessica Andrade Has Heaps of Experience
An accomplished fighter would be an understatement. Former 115lbs Champion, challenged for the 125lbs title in April 2021, wins against Rose Namajunas, Lauren Murphy and Amanda Lemos. A very experienced fighter. Andrade’s experience will be so important due to Blanchfield’s lack of experience herself.
Shear Power
If you look at Andrade’s highlight reel, you’ll see her pick up and slap Namajunas right on her head with ease. That sort of power and strength could be something Blanchfield underestimates and could end up negating a significant portion of Blanchfield’s game plan. We’ve also never had Blanchfield’s chin tested before, either, as she’s never been finished.
5 Rounds Worth of Cardio
A common staple of the championship and main event fights is the five rounds. Blanchfield has never done five rounds before in her MMA career. On the other hand, Andrade has only gone the full five rounds once before but has trained multiple times. I believe if Blanchfield can somehow get through the first few rounds could still play dividend because of the unknowns of Blanchfield’s cardio.
Dont Count Out Andrade’s Submission Game!
We all know Blanchfield is this elite young prodigy of a jiujitsu practitioner, but Andrade isn’t to be messed with. Earlier in Andrade’s career, you can see she has a very strong Guillotine. Six wins by guillotine, to be exact. And did I also forget to mention the first-ever standing arm-triangle choke? The likelihood of Andrade submitting Blanchfield is low but it might be worth considering.
Tune in this weekend to watch this barn burner of a main event go down at the UFC Apex!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
