UFC Atlantic City: Blanchfield vs Fiorot

The UFC heads back to Atlantic City for the first time since 2018 with a women's flyweight battle that has title implications written all over it. France's Manion Fiorot is the 3rd ranked 125-pound fighter in the world and will put her 11-fight win streak on the line against 2nd ranked Erin Blanchfield. Two of the meanest ladies in the division and many other huge fights are expected for the UFC's return to The Garden State.

Main Event

    Womens flyweight is one of the most stacked divisions in the UFC and has a really unique champion in Alexa Grasso at the helm. After her upset victory in early 2023 of Valentina Shevchenko, they were destined for a rematch that ended in a draw. Now they are slated to finish their trilogy this summer. Due to this, the division has become pretty clogged at the top with talent and it's a blessing that we get to have thus number 1 contender fight. The winner of this Atlantic City Main Event is essentially guaranteed a title shot later this year.

    Erin Blanchfield is one of the more well-rounded fighters in women's MMA right now. She has one loss on her professional career coming all the way back in 2019. The unique skillset she brings makes her a threat on her feet or while striking. She had a 3-fight submission streak ended in her last fight when she dominated Taila Santos for 15 minutes, which resulted in her promotion to number 2 in the rankings.

    Standing across from Blanchfield will be Manon Fiorot, who boasts a professional record of 11-1 including 11 straight wins. Fiorot is from Paris and has elite striking abilities. She has finished half of her opponents by knockouts and will look to add another name to her resume. Fiorot has never looked bad on the ground but could be truly tested in someone with elite wrestling experience in Blanchfield. The stakes in this one are very high and that usually means UFC fans are in for a treat.

Blanchfield vs Fiorot Preview

Other Fights

• Vincente Luque vs Joaquin Buckley- The co-main event in New Jersey will feature two very exciting welterweights. Both of these fighters have plenty of finishes in their UFC careers and will be looking to add another. Buckley has won two in a row, has one of the best KO's of all time, and now will look to add a ranked named to his resume. Vincente Luque has fought some of the best the welterweight division has to offer and is still relatively young. A win here could allow him to make a push for the belt.

(Joaquin Buckley KO of the year)

• Chris Weidman vs Bruno Silva- Bruno Silva has had a long UFC career in the middleweight division and has in the last few years has been sent a gauntlet of rising stars such as Alex Pereria and Shara Magomedov. Now he has a chance to put on a show with former 4-time champ, Chris Weidman. Weidman has been on a bit of a losing streak but anytime a former champion is in the ring, you can expect a good fight. Both of them are on a losing streak and will hope the back half of their career can have a win over a long-time veteran.

In The News

UFC 301

    The UFC's 300th pay-per-view event is coming up next month which means it was about time that Dana White announced what would shortly be following for the following month. Rio de Janero, Brazil will be the host of UFC 301 and it will feature a Brazilian in all 12 fights on the card. We all knew this card might be a little weak but the timing for UFC 301 in Bazil is a little surprising with its two biggest stars in Alex Pereria and Charles Oliviera on UFC 300. The headliner is UFC flyweight champion Alexander Pantoja vs Steve Erceg. Maybe a little underwhelming to some, but it speaks volume to how impressive Pantoja has been in the division. He's fighting the 10th ranked fighter who has only been in the organization for 10 months, purely because he has beaten just about every other top fighter in the division. However, Steve Erceg is no scrub and will look to have a huge upset and extend his win streak in front of the away crowd.

    The Co- Main event may be a surprise to most as well as "The King of Rio" and former P4P king, Jose Aldo is returning for a comeback fight against Pedro Munoz. Jose Also is a legend of the sport and this fight will bring plenty of eyes to the card.

Official UFC 301 Card

UFC Saudi Arabia

    Dana White also announced another card that will be coming this summer on June 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It's the first card ever in Saudi Arabia and will be free on ABC. The card won't be a pay per view, but it's no ordinary fight night. He really outdid himself and stacked this card. The headliner is Khamzat Chimaev against 3rd ranked Robert Whitaker. Both of these guys are big names and have title aspirations for good reasoning. White made this official when he declared this a number 1 contender match. 

    

    The co-main event in Riyadh will be two Russian, heavyweight bombers in #6 Alexander Volkov and #2 Sergei Pavlovich. Both of these guys will look to bounce back after losses and can put anyone's lights out in the division. There are plenty more names on the card that will excite such as Shara Magomedov, Kevin Gastelum, and Johnny Walker.

Robert Whitaker (left) and Khamzat Chimaev (right)