The language barrier may be steep, but Manon Fiorot speaks the universal language fluently whenever he steps into a cage to fight. Last June, she was binging from Nice on the French Riviera, facing 25-year-old Erin Blanchfield on the French Riviera, in a fight - honestly - she was set to fail.

The devil is in the details. Blanchfield is ten years younger, undefeated, from New Jersey. No one wanted to fight her, especially on the Jersey Coast. She should have made her own vote to quietly occupy herself through her right hand Fiorot, taking Rose Namajunas in her previous battle in Paris, hitting her own light-leading champion.

advertise

We saw what happened. We focused so much time and time again that we couldn’t see it when we headed to the freight train.

"It's one of my best fights because we're both unbeaten in the division and she's a really good fighter," Fiorot said Uncrowned through the interpreter. "So, definitely one of my best fights because I won."

Win her.

When Fiorot is ready to win the women's lightweight championship with Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday night at UFC 315, the context is important in explaining why she is a betting favorite. Fiorot passed her first defeat very sneakily, resulting in one of the best performances of 2024. She not only defeated her. She invalidates Blanchefield. Sometimes helpless. If nothing else, it is definitely a work ongoing.

advertise

Just as Blanchfield had no plan B suffered the existential crisis of battle, because Fiorot was easy to use, unwavering, and rooted in her own strength, just like the Reds in Ribeauvillé.

Frankly speaking, she is a savage. She kept fighting and punished Blanchefield for every move.

So while Saturday night’s pay-per-view headlines Belal Muhammad should have all the honors in the world for entering England and defeating Birmingham’s own Leon Edwards in an evil moment, Fiorot deserves something similar on nights where only the hardcore diehards are the hardies, even the attention-grabbing nights.

"I don't think I've finished the UFC fight too much time," Fiorot said. "But I think on Saturday night, it's a good thing - it's a good opportunity to end the fight."

advertise

Shevchenko has completed twice in her long and long career, according to records. It was Liz Carmouche who returned to crossing the trail in Concho, New Mexico about 15 years ago and then crossed again in her first battle with Alexa Grasso. Of course, this loss sets up a three-part series that keeps the women’s lightweight division in a pending state over the past few years.

Meanwhile, the 35-year-old Fiorot has been stacking the bodies. Blanchfield is the seventh place in a string since Fiorot’s 2021 vs. Victoria Leonardo. She made a single unanimous decision on Jennifer Maia and Katlyn Chookagian before welcoming Namajunas to her countrymen in the fall of 2023.

Of her five decisions, three of them — including a five-round match against Blanchefield — had a clean scan of the judges’ scorecards. Only Namajunas and Chookagian can claim to have won a round against her.

"I'm honestly surprised the favorites of this fight because Valentina's champion, she's so dominant," Fiolot said. "But if you focus on the last three battles, I think I'm more dominant than her."

advertise

Fiorot is the understatement of the reigning queen.

Because she is French, she has not received a lot of big fanfare in the United States. She doesn't speak English, but if you saw her at Ariel Helwani's show last year, you know she understands more than she allows. In her extracurricular activities, she is a ski, and she says the remote terrain and half-pipe beat her body, worse than any of the 125-pound women UFC has in front of her. Her trajectory from karate to taekwondo to MMA became even more rebellious, as MMA was illegal in France until 2020.

Five years after the taboo was lifted, she translated the best as a warrior. According to Fiorot, if she beat Shevchenko in the epicenter of Montreal France-Canada, it would be "a very interesting French accent" and she would be the first undisputed French champion in UFC history.

Ciryl Gane won the interim heavyweight title against Derrick Lewis in 2021, but has the asterisk of the position. Francis Ngannou represented France when he won the direct heavyweight title earlier that year, but was born in Cameroon. Born and raised in France, Fiorot can be known by depriving the greatest female lightweight mass of the UFC of what it is known as the new MMA hotbed emerged.

advertise

“I don’t know if I’m a superstar in France, but yes, a lot of people know me and talk to me,” Fiolot said. “It gave me some strength in the street.”

Winning is the common language. The gold accessories she carried in Canada lost any anonymity she had as a competitor.