This past Saturday in the co-main event of UFC Paris, we saw a pivotal matchup in the women’s flyweight division. Former strawweight champion “Thug” Rose Namajunas (11-6) was moving up in weight for the first time and she was taking on the hometown favorite in France’s Manon Fiorot (11-1).
Given the styles of both of these fighters, I was expecting a very technical striking matchup with a little grappling thrown in. That’s exactly what we got on Saturday. Namajunas did try mixing in the grappling and she tried to keep up with Fiorot, but Thug Rose was compromised very early in the first round.
After dislocating her pinky in one of the opening exchanges, Namajunas became a very one-handed fighter throughout. Fiorot didn’t get overly aggressive but instead stuck to her game plan. She stayed long with her shots and her shots had significantly more power behind them than Namajunas’ did.
By the end of the third round, Namajunas was wearing a decent amount of damage on her face. That said, Thug Rose stayed right in the fight the whole time and kept it competitive. It wasn’t a landslide at all, but Manon Fiorot picked up the big decision win at UFC Paris as she angled herself for a title shot.
What’s next after UFC Paris?
After this win, it’s hard to deny that Manon Fiorot is deserving a title shot. Since making her UFC debut back in 2021, she’s gone a perfect 6-0. She holds a win over a former UFC champion in Rose Namajunas and she also defeated perennial top contender Katlyn Chookagian.
That said, there’s another fighter who also has an argument for a title shot. That’s Erin Blanchfield. Blanchfield is coming off a win over Taila Santos at UFC Singapore. That win came after she dominated and finished former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade earlier this year.
So, like Fiorot, Blanchfield’s last two wins came against a top contender / former title challenger and a former champion. I would honestly put a little more weight behind Blanchfield’s two wins. I could see the promotion going with Blanchfield given the way things have played out.
In a couple of weeks at UFC Noche, Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko will run it back for the flyweight title. Whoever wins, they should face either Blanchfield or Fiorot. In fact, whoever loses should fight whoever doesn’t get the title shot. I think these four are clearly the top four in the division and I think we just need to see how the title fight shakes out in a couple of weeks.
If it’s an absolute war where both fighters need time off, I would like to see the promotion book a true title eliminator between Blanchfield and Fiorot. That way, there’s no doubts.