Erin Blanchfield criticizes Valentina Shevchenko's grappling ahead of potential title shot

Erin Blanchfield appears next in line to challenge Valentina Shevchenko for the title, assuming 'Bullet' gets past Alexa Grasso at UFC 285. 'Cold Blooded' recently denied that the women's flyweight champion is on the decline while questioning her grappling ability.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the No.3-ranked women's flyweight discussed Shevchenko's previous bout:

"I don’t think it was necessarily she’s on the decline. I think it’s just kind of showing a little bit of the holes that she does have. Taila [Santos] just did good job of using that to her advantage. I don’t think you’ll see a similar fight with [Alexa] Grasso because Grasso just doesn’t have that style or that size to put on Valentina so you’ll probably see something similar to her older fights."

While Blanchfield agreed that Shevchenko's striking was incredible, she dissed the flyweight champion's grappling and jiu-jitsu skills by saying:

"I don’t think it’s any secret her striking is very good, her Muay Thai is very crisp. She even has some decent body lock takedowns, but I think on the actual floor, her jiu-jitsu, it’s not bad. It’s just very, very basic. I don’t think she has many submissions. I don’t think she can get out of certain positions very well, like what we saw against Taila. I think that’s where her game is the most basic and probably could use some improvement."

Erin Blanchfield shared that she would like for the women's flyweight champion to retain the title so she can be the fighter to take the belt. Valentina Shevchenko, who has never lost as a flyweight, will look to defend her title for the eighth consecutive time when she faces Alexa Grasso at UFC 285.

Watch Erin Blanchfield discuss Valentina Shevchenko below (starting at the 10:44 mark):

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Erin Blanchfield doesn't mind taking another fight before facing Valentina Shevchenko

Erin Blanchfield has firmly placed herself in the UFC women's flyweight title contention after a dominant performance against Jessica Andrade at UFC Vegas 69 this past weekend. With Valentina Shevchenko set to defend her title at UFC 285 on March 5, a title clash between the two lines up perfectly.

'Cold Blooded' recently shared that, despite this, she is willing to fight again before receiving a title opportunity. Speaking to the media following UFC Vegas 69, Blanchfield stated:

"I’m definitely okay with fighting again [before receiving a title opportunity]. The title fight’s in two weeks so I think it can line up perfect but if they want me to fight again, I’ll gain more experience."

If Shevchenko is able to defeat Alexa Grasso at UFC 285, the next women's flyweight title challenger will likely be Blanchfield or No.2-ranked women's flyweight Manon Fiorot, as they are the only two top-five fighters in the division that she has not beaten. The possibility also remains that 'Bullet' will look to challenge Amanda Nunes for the women's bantamweight title.

Watch Erin Blanchfield's comments on waiting for a title shot below (starting at the 5:29 mark):