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Top women's flyweight Erin Blanchfield isn't holding for breath when it comes to Zhang Weili finding championship success in the UFC 125-pound women's division. In a recent interview with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, the American grappling phenom shared her thoughts on Weili as a fighter.
First, Blanchfield detailed her path to a potential title shot. She is coming off a win over former women's strawweight queen Rose Namajunas, having beaten her via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 246. She believes a win over the streaking Natália Silva could land her a title fight. Blanchfield said:
"I don't know if she wants to stay at 125 and fight the rest of the girls in that division. I think that would be really hard for her. But if she moves up, I plan on winning my fight in a little less than three weeks now and then maybe have to fight again if I fight Silva or something like that, and then I get a title shot."
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Regarding Weili's chances in the division, Blanchfield was quick to highlight the reigning 115-pound queen's losses to Namajunas.
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"I think Weili would be very similar [to Namajunas]. I think she could win some fights at flyweight, because she's very good. But I don't see her being a champ. I don't even see her really being top five at 125. I mean, Rose was able to beat her twice and knock her out once, and Rose is a little bit bigger than Weili, at least height-wise. So Weili has even less of an advantage at 125 being even shorter."
Check out Erin Blanchfield's thoughts on Zhang Weili below:
While a matchup between Weili and Valentina Shevchenko is one that's been brought up before, the UFC has yet to make an official statement about Shevchenko's next step.
Erin Blanchfield just rebounded from loss to latest 125-pound title challenger
Before beating Rose Namajunas in late 2024, Erin Blanchfield was handed her first-ever UFC loss by Manon Fiorot, who recently faced Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 315, dragging her to the limit in a unanimous decision loss for the women's flyweight title.
Blanchfield and Fiorot, though, locked horns at UFC on ESPN 54. Despite her best efforts, Blanchfield was unable to impose her grappling game and was outworked on the feet, suffering a unanimous decision loss.
