The rematch was meant to be tense, tactical, and perhaps even cautious, but Erin Blanchfield flipped the script in just two rounds. Under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, she erased six years of doubt and one heartbreaking split-decision memory with a performance that left no room for argument. Tracy Cortez started off strong and confident, even edging the early striking, but after Blanchfield settled in, the momentum shifted like a tide.

By the time the choke had set in, everyone realized this wasn’t the same 19-year-old from 2019. This was a contender making a statement in front of the entire division. When Cortez tapped at 4:44 in Round 2, MSG erupted. Blanchfield rose with the look of someone who had come to settle old business, and did so definitively. ‘Cold Blooded’ didn’t just get payback; she pushed herself into title contention with the kind of performance fighters dream of on a platform this big.

Fans want UFC 322 winner Erin Blanchfield to fight for the title next

As soon as the fight ended, fans wasted little time to flood social media with just one demand: Erin Blanchfield will have to fight for the title next. “The UFC has to get Blanchfield a title already,” wrote a fan. Another fan demanded, “Dana White, Erin Blanchfield needs a title shot her next fight.” It didn’t feel like wishful thinking anymore—it felt like the logical next step.

“Erin Blanchfield and Tracy Cortez didn’t belong in the same Octagon,” wrote another fan. “Erin isn’t 19 years old anymore. Erin made it look easy.” The compliments came in like a dam breaking. “Erin Blanchfield needs to be respected,” another stated, while another wrote, “What a gutsy, gritty W against Tracy Cortez!”

Fans couldn’t believe how quickly the match shifted once ‘Cold Blooded’ leaned into her strength. “Once she got her wrestling going, it was over,” one person wrote. Others focused on her grappling abilities: “Erin Blanchfield is very good on the ground. She made it look easy.” And the MMA community’s overwhelming theme was clear: “If you ever doubt Erin Blanchfield, you don’t know what you’re watching.”

Erin Blanchfield herself seemed to be aware of the magnitude of her win. Fighting on the same card as Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili sparked her interest in getting her shot at the title next, and she was already eyeing a fight with the winner of tonight’s co-main event. “I’m feeling amazing,” Blanchfield said in the post-fight interview. “I’m happy to be fighting on the same card as Valentina Shevchenko and Zhang Weili, and I’m definitely going to be looking at that fight.”

With this win, Blanchfield closed a six-year loop: the first loss, the doubt, the quiet recovery, and now the loudest win of her professional career. And the fans recognized it for what it was: a star entering her prime at just the right time. But for Cortez, she would have to drop her plans that she made while expecting a win at the MSG.

Tracy Cortez to drop flyweight title dreams for now

For Tracy Cortez, this loss was more than just another setback; it closed a door she had been trying to unlock for years. She spoke all week about finally being in the right place, at the right time, and in the ideal fight to challenge for the title. But after Erin Blanchfield slid into the choke, everything Cortez had planned for Madison Square Garden disappeared in a matter of seconds.

For the time being, any hopes of breaking into the top three have been abandoned in favor of a much more difficult climb back. She actually believed this was her moment. The delays, the injuries, the delayed schedule, and the 31-year-old framed everything as happening “for a reason.” A victory over Blanchfield would have changed her narrative, confirming that her 2019 success was not a fluke and putting her directly in the title race.

‘Cold Blooded’ closed that chapter for good. Cortez leaves with more questions than answers and without the momentum she had hoped for. The 12-3-0 finds herself right back in the middle of the division, where title hopes are put on hold until a fighter stacks wins again. The UFC still sees her as valuable, and fans continue to support her, but any talk of contention has been put on hold. Erin Blanchfield advances forward, while Cortez resets. The belt isn’t out of the question for her, but it won’t be in her immediate plans either.