Valentina Shevchenko is discrediting Erin Blanchfield’s win against Jessica Andrade.
Blanchfield put the UFC women’s flyweight division on notice by securing a second-round submission against Andrade. ‘Cold Blooded’ is now ranked number three with a chance to challenge for the title next time.
Reigning flyweight queen Valentina Shevchenko joined James Lynch to discuss the main event of UFC Vegas 69 and had this to say about Andrade not being fully prepared:
“I have great doubts that Jessica trained for that fight. I think she was kind of chilling on the beach in Brazil like good things with the family, and then, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got a call.’ [The UFC said] Do you want to fight in a week? She said: ‘yes, why not? I need some money,’ and she went in there.”
Blanchfield was initially supposed to fight Taila Santos before the Brazilian withdrew due to visa issues. As a result, ‘Bate Estaca’ stepped up on short notice and only had a week to prepare for the young phenom. Regardless of Andrade’s preparation time, ‘Cold Blooded’ did beat a former world champion, further validating his potential to win a UFC title in the future.
Watch Valentina Shevchenko talk about Erin Blanchfield below:
Valentina Shevchenko thinks Erin Blanchfield is too green for a title fight
Erin Blanchfield has been asking for a women’s flyweight title shot ever since she raised her hand against Jessica Andrade. With Taila Santos and Manon Fiorot likely needing another win before challenging for the throne, Blanchfield has a strong case for a world championship shot next time around.
During the same interview with James Lynch, Valentina Shevchenko had this to say about Blanchfield:
“Erin, he’s talking too much right now, taking the opportunity to mention his name and yes, he’s young. She is something like 23 years old. This is what she has to do, but I think, for the title fight, he’s still green… To me, he looks like a happy little puppy.”
Shevchenko will defend her flyweight title against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 on March 4. If ‘Bullet’ is victorious, the most likely title challenger at 125 pounds would be Blanchfield. There is still a chance that the Kyrgyz native could move up to 135 pounds for a trilogy fight against Amanda Nunes. Before worrying about what’s next, the 34-year-old shouldn’t overlook Grasso.