Preview: UFC Fight Night 207 Prelims

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Women’s Flyweights

Erin Blanchfield (8-1, 2-0 UFC) vs. J.J. Aldrich (11-4, 7-3 UFC)

ODDS: Blanchfield (-525), Aldrich (+385)

Everything seems to be clicking for the 23-year-old Blanchfield at an alarmingly quick rate. She came to the UFC with a considerable amount of hype, but there were some worries that she would have some issues early on. While she flashed some obvious talent, her performances often felt somewhat formless, and a 2019 decision loss to Tracy Cortez loomed large given that Cortez was her best pre-UFC opponent. That defeat saw Blanchfield get outwrestled and waste time hunting for a submission from her back, but two fights into her UFC career, it appears she is certainly over those issues. For one thing, Blanchfield is no longer a teenager and is obviously a much stronger physical force, and “Cold Blooded” has channeled a much more aggressive approach in her recent outings. Running through Sarah Alpar in her UFC debut wasn't a surprise, but a one-sided December win over another physical talent in Miranda Maverick has established Blanchfield as the best of the young prospects coming through the women’s flyweight ranks. For her next test, Blanchfield draws Aldrich, who remains as underrated and quietly effective as ever. Aldrich came to the UFC as a strawweight prospect in 2016 and, despite her inexperience, found some early success after dropping her debut to Juliana Lima. However, her ceiling has always been a bit of a question. Aldrich is as well-rounded and rock-solid of a fighter as you will find, but she has often been held back by a lack of high-level athleticism. Earlier in her career, the worry was that those disadvantages would knock her off the roster entirely, but since moving up to flyweight in 2019, Aldrich has done an excellent job of filling out and putting on strength to the point that it is no longer a huge liability against most competition. Against the likes of Cortney Casey and Vanessa Demopoulos, Aldrich managed to use her sound technique to outwork two flawed athletes. A March win over Gillian Robertson gave Aldrich three straight victories and sets her up for a big spot here, and it will be interesting to see how Blanchfield fares against her toughest test yet. Still, this does look to be a fight that Blanchfield should win. Aldrich has been plagued by a lack of finishing ability, so Blanchfield’s recent approach of walking through damage and worrying about the rest later should pay off; and while Aldrich has stifled stronger athletes in the past, Blanchfield looks like the type of talent that should be able to overpower her and get this fight to the mat. There is the chance that Aldrich could put some doubt in Blanchfield’s mind and make this a much more even fight. Even so, Blanchfield has to be the clear lean here. The pick is Blanchfield via decision.

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