After having Tracy Cortese’s boxing skills shredded on her feet for nearly two rounds, women’s flyweight contender Erin Blanchfield finally moved into the elite wrestling game on Saturday.
It was not long after that until the battle ended.
Blanchfield (14-2) took a big step toward a potential 125-pound title shot by submitting Cortez (12-3) via rear-naked choke in the second round of their rematch at UFC 322 inside Madison Square Garden. The finish came at 4:44 as Blanchfield avenged a split decision loss to Cortez on the regional MMA scene at Invicta FC 34 in 2019.
“I’m really excited,” Blanchfield said. “I really wanted revenge for this [loss]”.
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Cortez dominated the opening round with quick hands and knees to the body in the clinch. But it was a competitive round in which Blanchfield failed in a single takedown attempt.
That eventually changed in the second round after a series of equal exchanges on the feet that featured a nosebleed. But it was Cortez who eventually fired first with a successful double-leg takedown reversed by Blanchfield.
Blanchfield’s first shot came soon after, but it was Cortez, thanks to a blatant grab for the fence that referee Blake Grace didn’t see, who was quick to get back to her feet. A visibly frustrated Blanchfield turned her hold into a running takedown attempt across the cage that ended with her quickly taking Cortez’s back to the ground.
Shortly after Blanchfield applied the throttle and fell backwards, Cortez raced out.
“I actually didn’t think the choking was that severe, but I felt like the pressure forced her out,” Blanchfield said.
With the win, Blanchfield improved to 8-1 in the UFC with her second straight win after losing to Manon Viorot in a 2024 No. 1 contender bout via unanimous decision.
Cortez, who started her UFC career with five straight wins, suffered her second loss in her last three fights.