Rose Namajunas vs. Erin Blanchfield announced as main event for UFC Fight Night in Edmonton

For the first time in over a decade, Rose Namajunas will fight three times in a calendar year. The UFC announced on Thursday that the former strawweight champion will headline another Fight Night card in Edmonton against Erin Blanchfield.

Per the official announcement, the fight card is targeted for Nov. 2, seven weeks after flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and Valentina Shevchenko complete their trilogy in the co-main event of UFC 306. With Blanchfield being ranked as the No. 3 contender and Namajunas just behind her at No. 5, the winner will likely be behind Manon Fiorot as the next challenger for the belt.

The timing of the matchup lines up for both women, with Namajunas coming off a win over Tracy Cortez in the main event of UFC Denver in July and Blanchfield suffering her first UFC defeat at the hands of Fiorot in March. The fight also makes sense for the flyweight division with Namajunas yet to get a win over a top contender in the weight class and Blanchfield looking to rebound from her momentum-halting loss.

However, the fight is slightly puzzling in the sense that, barring a draw or no contest, the result will only further create a logjam at the top of the division. With the position both women are in, they each have a chance to be the No. 1 contender at flyweight with a win. The only problem is that will not be true with Fiorot looming.

If Fiorot was not in the conversation, the timing would align for the winner of the matchup to face the winner of the UFC 306 co-main event in early 2025. But that is not the case, thus setting up Fiorot as the rightful next title challenger for the winner of the Grasso vs. Shevchenko trilogy, leaving the winner of the UFC Edmonton main event in limbo.

The fight is undeniably crucial for the short-term title hopes of both women but puts even the winner in a sticky situation: either hold out and wait until the end of 2025 while hoping another contender does not emerge or take another fight and risk losing No. 1 contender status. Blanchfield was in a similar position entering her fight with Fiorot.