Just over six years after suffering the first loss of her professional career, Erin Blanchfield got her revenge on Tracy Cortez at UFC 322.
After falling to Cortez back in 2019, Blanchfield was determined to right that wrong and she looked determined to put on an impressive performance on Saturday. She closed the fight after securing a takedown and then advancing to snatch a rear-naked choke, which just kept getting tighter and tighter until Cortez had no choice but to tap out.
The end came at 4:44 in the second round.
“I’m feeling amazing,” Blanchfield said after the win. “I really wanted to redeem this win. I love that I’m fighting on the same card as Valentina [Shevchenko] and [Zhang] Weili. I definitely have my eye super close on that fight.”
It was a back-and-forth fight throughout the opening round with Blanchfield and Cortez both looking to strike without any real takedown attempts. That changed in the second round with Cortez actually dragging the fight to the ground but Blanchfield quickly reversed positions on her.
The grappling battle continued until Blanchfield grabbed the legs and drove through a takedown before quickly seeing the opening for the choke. Blanchfield had the submission locked up even without her legs wrapped around Cortez and the tap came just a few seconds later.
Blanchfield has now picked up back-to-back wins in the flyweight division, which could put her next in line for a title show with the flyweight championship going up for grabs in the co-main event with Valentina Shevchenko taking on Zhang Weili.
