The fact that Erin Blanchfield doesn’t get unwavering, raucous support when she competes at Madison Square Garden in New York City remains one of the more perplexing little sidenotes to the flyweight’s rise into title contention in the flyweight division.
Born in the city and raised across the river in Elmwood Park, New Jersey, one would think that whenever Blanchfield steps into the Octgaon inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena,” the vocal masses would shower her with cheers and support, but that hasn’t been the case. When she made her first appearance at MSG at UFC 281, Blanchfield’s opponent, Liverpool-native Molly McCann, was the one getting cheered, with the New Jersey native joking you could hear a pin drop when she was on her way to collecting her first-round submission win.