Saturday’s UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield is more about the future of the sport than it is the present, though the past is well represented in the main event. The headline bout features up and comer Erin Blanchfield taking on former UFC strawweight champion Jessica Andrade in a flyweight contender fight. Both fighters are in a unique situation with the bout set up just a week ago. Blanchfield was originally scheduled to fight Taila Santos in the main event, but she withdrew when her corner personnel were denied visas. I guess they could’ve just walked across the southern border if they wanted to be here, but I digress.
A dominant first round submission of Molly McCann at UFC 281 put Blanchfield on the fast track as one of the hottest prospects in the division. Relatively inexperienced compared to her opponent, Blanchfield hit the board as a +124 underdog. Andrade became the first woman in the UFC to win a fight in three different weight classes when she TKO’d Kaitlyn Chookagian in a flyweight bout in 2020. Andrade returned to the flyweight division last month earning a unanimous decision over Lauren Murphy at UFC 283, it was her third straight victory overall putting her as a -155 favorite.
Not only have the fighters changed so has the lineup. A bantamweight duel between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen was the original headliner with that fight moved to next month. Now the women will close out the evening in a test not only of their skill but also their stamina in the five round main event. Since this was the co-main event under the original alignment, the shifting instead left four other fights on the main card.
There will be plenty of action inside the Octagon with 11 scheduled bouts making up the fight card on Saturday, February 18, 2023 from the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, NV. The prelims start at 4 p.m. ET with the main card scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. All fights can be seen on ESPN+. Betting options for every fight on the ticket are available at BookMaker.eu when you’re ready to place a wager.
UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs. Blanchfield
Main Card
Erin Blanchfield +124 vs. Jessica Andrade -155
Jordan Wright +218 vs. Zac Pauga -285
Josh Parisian +194 vs. Jamal Pogues -250
Marcin Prachnio -110 vs. William Knight -120
Alexander Hernandez -237 vs. Jim Miller +184
Prelims
Evan Elder +146 vs. Nazim Sadykhov -185
Lina Lansberg +343 vs. Mayra Bueno Silva -485
Jamall Emmers +100 vs. Khusein Askhabov -130
Ovince St. Preux +176 vs. Philipe Lins -225
Themba Gorimbo +209 vs. AJ Fletcher -270
Juancamilo Ronderos +214 vs. Clayton Carpenter -280
Facing Andrade (24-9) might be a more difficult matchup for Blancfield (10-1), who is 4-0 inside the Octagon while riding a 7-fight overall winning streak. And we’ve seen Blanchfield evolve over the years into a legitimate threat for the flyweight belt currently held by Valentina Shevchenko. Blanchfield has an array of moves learned from a background in jiu-jitsu, kickboxing and wrestling. Her first two UFC fights went the distance against Sarah Alpar and Miranda Maverick. Last year proved to be a good one for Blanchfield increasing her appeal as a top contender with a guillotine choke of J.J. Aldrich in June and first round kimura submission of McCann in November.
One thing about Andrade is that she won’t be intimidated since she’s pretty much seen it all in her career. And she’s done more than any woman winning fights in three different divisions. In 2019 Andrade KO’d Rose Namajunas at UFC 237 to win the strawweight strap. However she lost to Zhang Weili via TKO in her first defense starting a stretch of three losses in four fights, including a TKO setback to Shevchenko for the flyweight belt in 2021. Andrade’s height, or lack thereof, sometimes forces her to be aggressive when it’s not called for. She’ll be at a disadvantage on Saturday in both height and reach. She makes up for it though with a different level of power and aggression not always seen in this division.
UFC Prediction: Erin Blanchfield / (T)KO
The remainder of the card is made up of young fighters looking to establish themselves in the promotion or veteran fighters going one last shot at UFC glory. One fighter that stands out is Jim Miller (35-16) in his lightweight bout with Alexander Hernandez (13-6). At 39 Miller shows no signs of slowing down in a young man’s sport. He won his last three starts all by stoppage and owns the most wins and appearances in UFC history. His opponents junior by a decade should give Hernandez an edge, but his lack of consistency inside the octagon stalled what was a promising career. He’s lost five of his last eight fights with lapses defensively leading to four of those setbacks ending before the scorecards.
UFC Prediction: Jim Miller / Sub
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