Manon Fiorot might have punched her ticket to a UFC title fight. Fiorot overwhelmed fellow top contender Erin Blanchfield at UFC Fight Night in Atlantic City on Saturday en route to a unanimous decision win.
Fiorot motioned for a title around her waist as UFC announcer Bruce Buffer announced her name inside the Octagon. Blanchfield and Fiorot met in a battle of elite new contenders in the women’s flyweight division. Blanchfield and Fiorot, ranked No. 2 and No.3 respectively in the UFC’s official rankings, operated with an expectation that a title shot awaited the winner.
“I’m ready,” Fiorot said through an interpreter during her post-fight interview. “No matter what, I want my title shot.”
The common pre-fight assessment was that Blanchfield would need to close the distance to beat her more well-rounded opponent. Fiorot kept Blanchfield at distance with strikes, tallying up points on the scorecards. Blanchfield fought valiantly in Round 2 and Round 4, but Fiorot swept her on all three judges scorecards with superior striking.
EBlanchfield (12-2) entered the fight with six consecutive wins, most recently defeating former title challenger Talia Santos and former women’s strawweight champ Jessica Andrade. Fiorot (12-1) also had six straight wins with the most recent being over former strawweight champ Rose Namajunas.
UFC women’s flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko are set as coaches for the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” A trilogy fight between them is expected to follow with Fiorot waiting in the wings.
