Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) women’s flyweight talents Rose Namajunas vs Erin Blanchfield will clash this weekend (Sat., Nov. 2, 2024) at UFC Edmonton from Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

After a challenging start, “Thug Rose”’s 125-pound career is in full swing. She has faced two Top 10 contenders in her last two matches, earning clear decision victories. Blanchfield, on the other hand, is coming off the first loss of her UFC career. Before that defeat Manon Fiorotshe was the most popular prospect in the division and was known as a certain future champion.

Fiorot is the shadow looming over this match, the most recent woman to beat both athletes. However, she is also definitely next in line for an opportunity Valentina Shevchenko‘s title, so this feels like a title eliminator for the next chance at gold.

Let’s take a closer look at the bets and strategy keys for each athlete:

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Namajunas vs. Blanchfield betting

• Rose Namajun’s win: +114
• Rose Namajunas via TKO/KO/DQ: TBD
• Rose Namajunas via submission: TBA
• Rose Namajunas via decision: TBD
• Erin Blanchfield win: -135
• Erin Blanchfield via TKO/KO/DQ: TBA
• Erin Blanchfield via submission: TBD
• Erin Blanchfield via decision: TBD
• Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

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How Namajunas wins

Namajunas is pretty damn good all around. At this stage of the game, she can wrestle the best of them, is an underrated submission threat, and has some of the cleanest boxing in WMMA history. There’s a reason why she became a two-time champion in the top women’s division, and if she can deliver when it counts, another title won’t be out of her reach.

This match is remarkably easy with Tracy Cortez. Simply put, Namajunas has the much better boxing. Her strikes will land with more fluidity and power than Blanchfield, who is more of a volume, paint-by-numbers attacker. The question is whether or not Namajunas can keep her distance and prevent Blanchfield from imposing her struggle and size.

It all comes back to footwork. Blanchfield attacks on straight lines, so Namajunas should have a big advantage in cutting corners and avoiding the fence. Blanchfield’s grit and jiu-jitsu expertise pose a threat, but none of that matters when she’s thrown through the air and bombarded by counters.

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How Blanchfield wins

At just 25 years old, it’s too early to count Blanchfield out yet. Although her striking skills are still developing, she is truly an expert on canvas, and her chain wrestling is better than that of the average jiu-jitsu fighter.

The key here is to get your hands on Namajunas. As mentioned above, her ability to cut off the cage rather than follow through will be tested here, and she really struggled with the same issue against Fiorot. Since Namajunas is not as physical a fighter as the French striker, a possible solution is to focus on shooting below the waist rather than pursuing the clinch.

If Fiorot can grab a leg, it’s the start of a wrestling match. She can use a single – even one that is doomed to fail – to push Namajunas into the cage or transition to a double. Historically, Namajunas does not like to grind matches and tends to slow down. Blanchfield, on the other hand, has consistently shown excellent wrestling fitness and would really benefit from an endless wrestling match.

A little size advantage certainly doesn’t hurt in those types of fights.

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Namajunas vs. Blanchfield Prediction

Although located as the co-main after initially being scheduled for the main event, this match lasts 25 minutes. That’s in Blanchfield’s favor, and it makes the prediction a lot more difficult.

Overall, I believe Namajuans is the better fighter by a fair margin. She is the cleaner, more powerful striker and Blanchfield is quite easy to hit. Even in wrestling, it will be very difficult to drag Namajunas down. It was a terrible fight, but Namajunas proved that her modern takedown defense is excellent in the Carla Esparza rematch.

The question is whether Blanchfield can win simply by being younger and wanting more. In a fight where a finish seems unlikely, pure cardio and volume are often decisive factors. Add to that Namajunas’ inconsistent performances and suddenly it feels difficult to be overly confident, despite her clearly superior skills.

I still side with the former champion, but I would feel a lot better if this was a three-round fight.

Prediction: Namajunas via decision

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FLYWEIGHT MANIA! Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) returns to the APEX venue in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, October 19, 2024 with an exciting middleweight main event between two rising 13th ranked contenders Anthony Hernández ranked players will face off against the No. 14 seed Michel Pereira. Plus exciting bantamweight highlights Rob font (no. 10) vs. Kyler Phillips (No. 11) she joins the hard-hitting co-headliner of UFC Vegas 99.

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Remember that MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the whole thing UFC Edmonton fight card right herestarting with the ESPN+ “Prelims” matches online, scheduled to start at noon 5:00 PM ETbefore the start time of the main card at 8:00 PM ET (also op ESPN+).

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