Even though Erin Blanchfield lives barely half an hour from Madison Square Garden, her 2022 debut at the dream venue left the Elmwood Park, N.J., native treated like the outsider to, of all people, an Englishwoman.
Well, there’s no British coming this time when the UFC women’s flyweight contender gets her first local headlining assignment on Saturday, two hours down the Garden State Parkway in Atlantic City.
And this time — against France’s Manon Fiorot instead of popular Liverpool slugger Molly McCann — Blanchfield expects to have the crowd at her back.
“I’m super excited to have the crowd on my side this time,” the 24-year-old Blanchfield told The Post this week via video call. “Kind of have what I thought I was gonna have [at the Garden] but in New Jersey.”
The unflappable Blanchfield, who won that night in Manhattan, put McCann through the wringer on the canvas before ending the night early with a brutal kimura submission in the second round and, as a result, still managed to soak in the adulation of the vocal locals who were no longer drowned out by booming Brits.
But Blanchfield is right to expect Boardwalk Hall to offer a far friendlier atmosphere, given how much her profile has grown since that statement victory over McCann as well as the fact that this one is firmly on Garden State ground.
Last year, the grappling ace picked up a pair of victories over women who had competed for the 125-pound title during the last three years, Jessica Andrade and Taila Santos.
Neither went down as the first knockout victory of her UFC career, but a display of improved striking prowess was key to both her rear-naked choke tapout of Andrade — in her first UFC main event last February— in outpointing Santos in August.
The matchup with Fiorot, noted for her kickboxing arsenal, might lend to lazy striker vs. grappler assessments of their matchup, but Blanchfield sees herself as a well-rounded fighter by now.
“Every fight starts standing, so I’m gonna have to be proficient in my striking,” Blanchfield says. “It’s not like she’s gonna lay down for me, so I’m gonna have to be able to close that distance and find my takedowns. But I feel I can win this fight wherever it goes.
This being a five-round main event — one between the two highest-ranked women behind champion Alexa Grasso and former champ Valentina Shevchenko, with clear implications for the title mix — that potentially gives Blanchfield an extra 10 minutes to get the upper hand on Fiorot.
Blanchfield likes how that lines up for her, believing she only gets better as the fight goes on and backing up her claim with some evidence.
“I’ve never lost a third round in my career, and I know my cardio is built for five-round fights,” Blanchfield insists. “That’s another reason I’m really excited we got the main event spot because, usually, only main events get those five rounds. So I’m really excited to use my cardio. I feel like that’s another weapon I have.”
Not that she wants to get ahead of herself — although Blanchfield oozes natural confidence they she’s got this fight in the bag — the elephant in the room is this fight’s status as an all-but-official No. 1 contender matchup.
The rub: Grasso and Shevchenko, who fought twice last year with the former winning the first and securing a controversial draw in the rematch, are coaching against one another on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter” and likely won’t square off until late summer at the earliest.
As much as Blanchfield feels like the Fiorot fight is “like, my third No. 1 contender fight” in a row and would love for her next matchup to have gold on the line, she’s not one to sit around on the sidelines for as much as a year, if she can help it.
“I’m still young in my career. This is my seventh UFC fight,” notes Blanchfield, who coincidentally made her pro MMA debut at Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa in Atlantic City six years ago this week. “I’m fighting tough girls. I feel like I’m improving every fight. And once I do get a title shot, I feel like I really will be a champion with the fights that I have had. So I’m happy to get the experience.
“Obviously, I’d love a title fight sooner than later,” she continues, speaking over the hint of exasperation in a laugh, “but it’s the way it goes. And I love it, so I don’t mind fighting.”
