Blanchfield rallies to win decision over Namajunas

Erin Blanchfield defeated Rose Namajunas via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) in a women's flyweight bout at UFC Edmonton on Saturday night at Rogers Place.

The fight served as the co-main event and was scheduled for five rounds.

Blanchfield had to rally to secure the victory after a strong start from Namajunas. She took the third, fourth, and fifth rounds on all three judges' scorecards after dropping the first two.

Blanchfield bounced back from the first loss of her UFC career in March, a unanimous decision to Manon Fiorot. The 25-year-old called for a fight against former champion Alexa Grasso, who lost the title to Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 306 in September.

Blanchfield and Namajunas were ranked No. 3 and No. 5 going into the bout, respectively.

Namajunas outworked Blanchfield in the stand-up department in the first two rounds, leading the way with her jab. It looked like Blanchfield was in for a long night, but she shifted the momentum in the third round with her first takedown. From there, Blanchfield started to land on the feet more frequently and racked up a decent amount of control time on the ground to eke out the victory.

Blanchfield began her Octagon stint with six straight wins. She is now 7-1 in the promotion and holds a 13-2 record overall.

Namajunas, a former strawweight champion, had her two-fight winning streak snapped. Namajunas is now 2-2 since moving up to 125 pounds in September 2023.