Erin Blanchfield returns this weekend to try and get back on the right path following a tough result last time out. The #3-ranked flyweight faces Rose Namajunas in the co-main event in Edmonton on Saturday night.
Following a six-fight winning streak inside the Octagon, many had high hopes that Blanchfield's incredible rise would lead to her fighting for a title. The 25-year old came into her last fight against Manon Fiorot knowing that these were the stakes hanging over the fight.
Her bout against the French striker showed that for how exciting the new contender is right now, she still has some key areas to work on. She was convincingly beaten by Fiorot who won every round on all three of the scorecards.
Though losing any fight is always a difficult moment to overcome, Blanchfield told Shakiel Mahjouri in a recent interview that her mindset helps her to take lessons from these experiences and move forward. She said that approaching these setbacks in the same way that she would when she was competing as a kid helps to put them into perspective.
We will find out this Saturday night whether she's able to put those lessons into practice against the former two-time strawweight champion.
I feel like the last time I lost, I went on a huge winning streak like previous to this fight so I know I can, I’ve been training my whole life. I’ve won a lot, I’ve lost a lot as a kid so I feel like I’ve learned how to deal with losses pretty well and really how to grow from them and not like let them stunt you. I think some people kind of get into that rhythm. It’s still a sport at the end of the day and it’s still kind of like following that same mindset as like a kid like oh, you just get better, you just keep training and improve so once I was over the initial like sucking of losing, I was definitely ready to go back in the gym.
