Erin Blanchfield out to force UFC's hand in Edmonton after being snubbed for Wang Cong title shot

One of the more qualified critics of the UFC's decision to pit Wang Cong against Natalia Silva for the vacant women's flyweight title at UFC 332 was Erin Blanchfield, perhaps the only dissenting voice who was literally snubbed. Blanchfield's credentials for a title shot were far worthier than Cong's, yet because she had a fight already on the books against Jasmine Jasudavicius — which takes place this weekend at UFC Edmonton — she wasn't considered.Still, the arithmetic wasn't all that complicated, for those keeping score. Blanchfield is 9-1 in the UFC and is coming off a victory over Tracy Cortez at UFC 322. Cong was 5-1 in the UFC since busting in through the "Road to the UFC"franchise and was coming off a victory over Cortez at UFC 329. Cortez is the common springboard in either case, yet Blanchfield had taken out former champions in her quest, names like Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade, which should've been the tiebreaker. You can understand why that was bothersome to the 27-year-old Blanchfield, who is currently ranked No. 3 on the UFC's women's flyweight Meta Rankings. "I think I definitely gave myself a day or two to be a little upset about that, because I felt like that was something I've really worked hard for and I've been in the top of the division for a long time," she told Uncrowned this week. "But [Cong] came in, I feel like everybody was kind of hot on her. She had beat Valentina [Shevchenko] in Muay Thai previously, so she had some feathers in her own cap, and obviously it showed it wasn't enough. She wasn't able to win that fight. But everything happens for a reason, and I have this fight only two weeks later, so I'm kind of right in the mix fighting around the same time. I've just got to use my fight and take the most advantage of it."Erin Blanchfield returns Saturday at UFC Edmonton, nearly a year after her win over Tracy Cortez.Jeff Bottari via Getty ImagesNow Blanchfield, who was originally booked to face Jasudavicius at UFC 330 in Philadelphia yet had to postpone with an injury, is tasked with taking the scenic pass to a title shot this weekend in Alberta. That, of course, means a totally different environment from the one first imagined for the encounter. With Philadelphia only 100 miles from Elwood Park, where Blanchfield grew up in New Jersey, the crowd in Philly would've been in her side. In Edmonton? Against a proud Canadian contender? The Maple Leaf will be waving in numbers at the Rogers Place, meaning Blanchfield will be dropping into what they like to call in the sports world, "hostile territory." It's just one more obstacle for Blanchfield in a world of many.Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Basketball league for the 2026-27 NBA season"I haven't had to go to someone else's country to fight them before," she says. "But I have been in the position where I was being booed like crazy and the crowd is definitely not on my side. So I have experience with that and I'm expecting that again obviously here, understandably. But, I mean, I've been here for a week already in training here, so I'm feeling comfortable."Accepting the situation as it stands has made this an interesting camp for Blanchfield, who has experience in No. 1 contender fights. Back in March 2024, Blanchfield, at just 24 years old, was set up to make an emphatic statement against Manon Fiorot in Atlantic City, where the crowd did belong to her. With her rooters in full throat, Blanchfield came up well short on the Boardwalk. In fact, she took dictation for 25 straight minutes, losing all five rounds and a unanimous decision.It was a humbling experience.Fiorot got to take on Shevchenko in her next fight, while Blanchfield was left heading back to the old drawing board … which, for those who believe you learn more from your losses than you do from your triumphs, might've been the best thing that could've happened. "I think so," Blanchfield agrees. "I have the two losses in my career, and I feel like I came back better from each of them. I lost to Tracy [Cortez in Invicta FC], and then obviously I was able to come back and beat her. And now having lost to Fiorot a little over two years ago now, I feel like it's something ... like, sometimes I could be a little stubborn, so I feel like it does help me to learn. Nothing is a better teacher than failure in that sense. I feel like it really has helped me, that it was something that I needed."Blanchfield has been called a lot of things throughout her career. When she came into the UFC at just 22 years old for her fight with Sarah Alpar in 2021, she was being dubbed "one to watch." By the time she buzz-sawed Molly McMann at Madison Square Garden at UFC 281, she was hailed as a "blue-chip prospect." And by the time she took out Andrade and Taila Santos in subsequent fights in 2023, she'd graduated to full-on "contender."She has rebounded from the Fiorot loss with back-to-back wins over Namajunas and Cortez to re-earn that status, and she wants to add the last key distinction — which is "No. 1 contender." As in, undeniably next for the champion, Silva.Natalia Silva (L) defeated Wang Cong for the vacant women's flyweight title at UFC 332.Cooper Neill via Getty Images"It's funny, because I've been in the UFC for five years now, and it does feel like a good chunk of time," Blanchfield says. "I know there are people that obviously have been in the UFC forever, but for my age and growing up into it, I feel like it's given me a lot of experience. I do feel like someone that could be wise beyond my years in that way, especially when it comes to fighting. It's only made me better. I basically got into UFC, fought a couple lower-rank fights, and then was right at the top for the last three, four years now."And through it all, the constant at (or at least near) the top has been Shevchenko, the two-time division champion who is considered, by some, to have achieved GOAT status in the women's ranks. To be working toward Silva rather than the division's lineal queen is somewhat of a strange curveball to the proceedings, even if it's a thought better left for another day."It would be a little weird to never fight Valentina because she has been so dominant in division," Blanchfield says. "She's just someone that even if she wasn't champ, she's so fundamental to the flyweight division since the beginning of it. It would be kind of sad not to be able to face her, depending on when she comes back, if she comes back. But it goes on, there'll be other people to fight." Blanchfield is a healthy favorite on Saturday night against Jasudavicius, and if she has it her way when Shevchenko comes back from injury, it'll be during the "Cold Blooded" era. Yet if she loses, which all of Canada will be hoping is the case … let's just say it'll be a long, long walk back to the old drawing board.