Dana White reacts to Erin Blanchfield’s impressive submission win over Jessica Andrade: “You couldn’t ask for a better badass performance by Erin”

UFC President Dana White is well aware of the rise of Erin Blanchfield.

Blanchfield is quickly emerging as a top contender in the UFC women’s flyweight division. She’s fresh off a second-round submission finish over Jessica Andrade at UFC Vegas 69. The win earned Blanchfield a “Performance of the Night” bonus. Blanchfield was expecting to meet Taila Santos, but she was removed from the card and replaced by Andrade on just one week’s notice.

Dana White reacted to Blanchfield’s win during a media scrum with reporters (h/t Essentially Sports).

Dana White talks Erin Blanchfield. https://t.co/uKPfDK6dut pic.twitter.com/5HVghMixqy

— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 26, 2023

“She [Erin Blanchfield] came out and did exactly what she needed to do.” White added, “She wasn’t afraid of her [Jessica Andrade], she wasn’t afraid of her power. She stood in the pocket, mixed it up with her, and went right after her.” 

The UFC boss said that Blanchfield’s performance was as good as it gets for someone looking to break through and receive a title shot.

“You couldn’t ask for a bigger stud than Andrade to come out and do what she did. You couldn’t ask for a better badass performance by Erin.”

The reigning UFC Women’s Flyweight Champion is Valentina Shevchenko. She will put the gold on the line against Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 on March 4. Blanchfield recently told MMAJunkie that she’s been studying Shevchenko for years.

“I think I’ll use my style [against Shevchenko] that I’ve been beating everybody with,” Erin Blanchfield stated in the interview. “Everyone kind of underestimates me a little bit just because of my age and because I don’t have that many fights in the UFC. I know I can win these fights. I feel like I’ve been breaking her down for years. I’ve been watching her since I was in high school. I know once I get in there that we’ll have a good game plan and that belt is going to be mine.”