Jéssica Andrade to Face Erin Blanchfield at UFC Vegas 69
Jéssica Andrade has stepped in at UFC Vegas 69 in yet another main event change for February 18, 2023 event.
Talia Santos was booked to face Erin Blanchfield in the flyweight headliner bout at UFC Apex Arena later this week. However, UFC announced during UFC 284 broadcast that Santos had withdrawn from the event.
Two of Santos’ coaches were denied a visa to United States for this event, which led to her withdrawal. Andrade was announced as a short-notice replacement for Santos, which remains a 5-round bout.
Andrade just competed at UFC 283 event in Brazil where she defeated Lauren Murphy via a unanimous decision on the main card. A former champion at strawweight, Andrade holds #3 position in UFC Women’s Flyweight rankings. She is on a 3-fights winning streak currently since being beaten by Flyweight Champion Valentina Shevchenko.
Erin Blanchfield, former Invicta FC and Cage Fury FC fighter, is also on a 7-fights winning streak since suffering her first loss in February 2019. 23 years old prodigy has 4 wins in a row in UFC and last defeated Molly McCann at UFC 281.
This is the second change in UFC Vegas 69 headliner. Previously, a top bantamweight bout between Marlon Vera and Cory Sandhagen was supposed to be the main event. However, that bout was shifted to March 25 UFC Fight Night in San Antonio.
UFC Vegas 69 will also see the likes of Jim Miller, William Knight, and Ovince Saint Preux in action along with UFC debuts of Jamal Pogues, Clayton Carpenter and Nazim Sadykhov.