UFC flyweight Erin Blanchfield put an abrupt stop to the “Meatball” McCann hype train at UFC 281. Blanchfield submitted McCann via kimura in the first round of the fight, and admitted on The MMA Hour that she was “surprised” that the referee didn’t stop the fight sooner.
“At one point, I was able to create a little distance and elbow her. She was moving and bucking, so in retrospect, I can see why they didn’t stop it. But I remember in the moment being like, ‘How many times can I punch her unanswered before they can stop this fight?’
Erin Blanchfield on McCann Submission: “Honestly, It Was Easy”
I know she was kind of OK, but I saw her face grimacing; she was kind of making a little bit of noise, because I was hitting her a lot, as hard as I could, from that position. So I do remember thinking, ‘How many times is this is even allowed? Is he going to get in trouble for letting me hit her this many times?’”
Blanchfield took McCann down early in the fight, subjecting “Meatball” to a crucifix that eventually led to the vicious submission win that Blanchfield described as “easy”.
“I didn’t think she was going to tap from an armbar or a kimura or something like that, but in the fight it was still there, and I knew that I had the position in so tight, I was almost waiting to see if she would let it pop.
I’ve popped other people’s shoulders, so I know what it feels like. She let it get pretty close. I was prepared to dislocate her arm, and then the ref probably would have had to stop it between rounds, but then she tapped.
I had control of the fight the whole time. I knew that submission was super locked in. Honestly, it was easy, so it was my natural reaction.”
Blanchfield described her surprise when offered the matchup, and how it didn’t faze her one bit. “I wasn’t sure who they were going to ask me to fight next. When they asked me to fight Molly, it was definitely a little bit of a surprise. She was on a good run. But maybe she was asking for somebody higher in the rankings. I’m not sure what she was thinking on her part, but it was a great fight for me.”
Did you see Blanchfield winning the McCann fight so early and so easily? Let us know in the comments.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEKtcGSh9mk
