When the UFC provided her a short-notice battle with Jéssica Andrade, Erin Blanchfield says she accepted it with out hesitation.
Initially paired towards Taila Santos at UFC Vegas 69 on Saturday, the up-and-coming prospect needed to pivot to Andrade after Santos’ group had their visas into the US denied. As unlucky because the state of affairs was, ‘Chilly Blooded’ was lucky the promotion discovered her somebody able to battle on one week’s discover.
“My supervisor known as me and informed me Taila was out, however Andrade was prepared to battle and I used to be positively down instantly,” stated Blanchfield at her media day scrum on Wednesday. “I already put in all of the work and I actually needed to battle. Taila is a troublesome opponent, Andrade is a troublesome opponent, however everyone’s powerful, so I didn’t actually care. I used to be simply glad to get a battle.”
With the brand new opponent, many questioned if this was a ‘larger’ battle for Blanchfield, who has now gone from a former title challenger to a former champion. For the 23-year-old, there was no distinction in magnitude between Santos and Andrade.
“I do know lots of people have been saying that, I suppose as a result of Andrade has a whole lot of expertise within the UFC,” stated Blanchfield. “She has much more fights than me or Taila, however I feel that’s solely motive why. Clearly, she’s tremendous powerful. She’s completely different than Taila, however I don’t suppose it’s essentially an even bigger battle like skill-wise. I feel it could be larger for those who know Andrade.”
Although getting ready for a short-notice battle is lower than splendid, Blanchfield says her preparation has gone by way of little to no adjustments.
“I feel they’re completely different physique varieties, a little bit bit completely different types,” stated Blanchfield. “It’s simply adjusting to that. Andrade has to regulate to me, too. She simply fought and she or he didn’t know she was preventing me till every week in the past. We each need to make a little bit little bit of changes, so I feel we’re on a fair enjoying discipline with that.”
UFC Vegas 69 does down on Sat., Feb. 18, on the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada. Andrade vs. Blanchfield serves because the headliner.
In regards to the creator: Kristen King is a author for Bloody Elbow. She has lined fight sports activities since 2016. (full bio)
