We’re less than a week away from UFC Fight Night 219 in Las Vegas and the event suddenly has a new headliner after Taila Santos withdrew from her fight with Erin Blanchfield due to her cornermen not being granted VISA’s.
As such, Jessica Andrade has now agreed to step in on short notice to fight Blanchfield in the evening’s headliner instead.
This marks a fast turnaround for the 31-year-old Andrade as she only just fought Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 a fortnight ago, emerging with a unanimous decision victory.
That was the former strawweight champion’s third win in a row, having also TKO’d Cynthia Calvillo in the first round and submitted Amanda Lemos in equally short order.
That leaves Andrade ranked No.3 at flyweight as she now prepares to take on the the 23-year-old Blanchfield, who is currently ranked 10th in the division as she looks to build on a perfect 4-0 start to her time in the UFC over the past couple of years.
Along the way Blanchfield has earned decision wins over Sarah Alpar and Miranda Maverick along with back-to-back submission finishes against JJ Aldrich and most recently Molly McCann.
Andrade vs. Blanchfield fronts a UFC Fight Night 219 card that also includes Jim Miller vs. Anthony Hernandez and Ovince Saint Preux vs. Philipe Lins.
