Overview
- Blanchfield won by rear-naked choke at 4:44 of Round 2 at Madison Square Garden, reversing a result from their 2019 meeting.
- After Cortez found early success on the feet and scored a takedown to start Round 2, Blanchfield reversed, secured top control, and finished from the back.
- The submission marked the first time Cortez has been finished in her professional MMA career.
- With the victory, Blanchfield improved to 14-2 overall and 8-1 in the UFC, earning a second straight win since her 2024 defeat to Manon Fiorot; Cortez fell to 12-3 (6-2 UFC).
- Analysts and fans called for Blanchfield to get the next flyweight title shot, pointing to the co-main event winner between Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili as the logical matchup.