Surging prospect Erin Blanchfield will attempt to slow down the incredible momentum of Molly McCann in front of a hometown crowd.
Blanchfield meets McCann at UFC 281,, which will take place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Nov. 12. Blanchfield first made the announcement via her Instagram account after McCann teased news was going to be announced soon, while MMA Fighting subsequently confirmed the booking with a person with knowledge of the promotion’s plans.
The UFC confirmed the fight via social media Thursday morning.
Blanchfield signed an agreement with UFC ahead of the upcoming fight.
Blanchfield has won five straight, including a 3-0 start to her UFC run. The No. 1 contender was victorious over Sarah Alpar, Miranda Maverick and Miranda Maverick during her two first octagon bouts. 13 flyweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings picked up her first promotional finish in her most recent outing when she submitted JJ Aldrich at this past June’s UFC Vegas 56 event.
McCann won her third straight fight and is now about as healthy as a fighter can be these days. “Meatball” began the year with the KO of the Year candidate against Luana Carolina at March’s UFC London event where she landed a ferocious spinning back elbow in the third round. The 32-year-old landed another spinning back elbow four months later in the UFC’s return to London, this time leading to a first-round TKO win over Hannah Goldy.
UFC 281 will be headlined by an exciting middleweight bout between Alex Pereira and champion Israel Adesanya.
Damon Martin contributed to this report.
