Manon Fiorot didn’t earn a knockdown but she did manage to deliver a shutout performance to beat Erin Blanchfield in lopsided fashion in the UFC Atlantic City main event.
The French flyweight stuck to the basics and displayed a perfectly timed counter striking attack to batter Blanchfield on the feet over five rounds. Outside of a brief submission attempt in the opening round, Fiorot was never in any serious danger as she stuck behind a slick two-punch combination that frustrated Blanchfield all night long.
When it was over, all three judges scored the fight 50-45 with Fiorot getting the nod to secure her seventh straight win in the UFC. With that victory in hand, Fiorot obviously believes a chance to become UFC champion should be next.
“I fought everyone in the category. I want the title, that’s it,” Fiorot shouted. “I’m ready no matter what, I want my title shot. She was tough but I didn’t have any surprises. I’m happy, everything goes well.”
The fight actually started with arguably Fiorot’s only real mistake after she actually grabbed a body lock and went for a takedown but left her head in the wrong spot, which led to Blanchfield snatching a guillotine choke. The submission was tight, which forced Fiorot to roll and scramble to get back to her feet in order to eventually break free.
Back on the feet, Fiorot used her speed and striking to make Blanchfield pay every time she charged forward with reckless abandon. Fiorot was resigned to picking Blanchfield apart on the outside with the New Jersey native struggling to close the distance in any meaningful way.
Even when Blanchfield managed to rush forward to secure a takedown, Fiorot countered well to reverse positions and get back to her feet again. Fiorot was happy to counter and pop Blanchfield with one or two shots in succession before circling away to reset in the center of the cage.
There wasn’t much flashy about Fiorot’s approach but her size, reach and striking were just keeping Blanchfield at the end of her punches and kicks with no real plan ‘B’ to turn the tables in the fight.
As the fight faded into the fourth round, Blanchfield decided to throw caution to the wind with even more aggression but she still couldn’t really land much on the feet and her takedowns remained ineffective.
With her coaches urging for a finish, Blanchfield actually landed her best strike all night with a head kick that connected but Fiorot didn’t blink as she just continued exchanging with her on the feet. Fiorot’s ability to punish Blanchfield with a well-timed left-right combination showed that she didn’t need to do much more to earn the victory.
Fiorot remains undefeated in the UFC with a perfect 7-0 record and the win over Blanchfield undoubtedly puts her in position to get a title shot. The only problem is reigning flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko are currently coaching the new season of The Ultimate Fighter with a trilogy fight between them likely happening in September.
That means Fiorot could end up sitting out the rest of the year waiting for the winner so it remains to be seen if she’s happy to stay sidelined that long or potentially risk her spot with another fight in 2024.
