People will likely complain about this matchup because its a female main event, but the reality is that the fight itself should be fun and it matters. Two top 5 fighters working closer to a title shot. Anytime you get a matchup that is meaningful to the division you can't really complain because things are falling into place on their own, without fake storylines or narratives. This is an interesting matchup because both women are tough and well rounded, but its definitely a clash of styles. Barber will want to be the busier striker while Blanchfield is going to want to get this fight to the ground. if Barber was bigger, i would break this fight down the exact way I did the Blanchfield vs Manon fight. But she's not and I think Blanchfield's non-stop forward pressure is likely enough to get the win here. Blanchfield is the pick but unless she cleans up her striking entries, she could be eating a ton of shots on the way in.
Erin Blanchfield
Erin Blanchfield is a nasty grappler. She comes forward, throws punches for a minute and then starts working her grappling. She is still young and still cleaning things up but she is improving quickly and up until her last fight, people were calling her the next champion. She averages around 6 significant strikes per minute and 2 takedowns per fight. She is coming off the bounce back win over Rose Namajunas where she had a pair of takedowns and 9 minutes of control.
Maycee Barber
Maycee Barber is a solid striker with very good boxing and improved wrestling. She is not a grappler in style but she has well timed takedowns when she needs them and was able to take down Montana de la Rosa, Jessicsa Eye, Miranda Maverick, Andrea Lee, and most recently Katlyn Chookagian. Her takedown defense is a mid level 53% which could be a problem in this matchup. She has been taken down 12 times in the UFC including once in her last fight. She is coming off of the decision win over Katlyn Chookagian (or now Cerminara) where the striking was clean and so were the takedowns.
