“I think some people are definitely born a little bit more adapt to competing,” she said. “Some people, it never bothers them. They’re always able to perform and show out, where some people always get a little bit caught up in the lights. And then I think also just being raised in the sport, I’ve been competing since I was eight years old, and in jitsu and kickboxing, obviously as a kid the striking wasn’t as intense; it’d be just to the body. So there were no finishes, but in jitsu, the goal is always to submit your opponent, so you’re always trying to choke them or armbar them or do something. So I think coming up, competing, combined with what I was born with, it doesn’t bother me to be in that spotlight, and I think it’s what set me up for where I’m at now.”
The Best 30 Fighters Under 30: Athletes 30-21 | Athletes 20-11 | The Honorable Mentions
Where is Erin Blanchfield at? Perhaps one win over a former world champion to be in the title conversation against perhaps the most dominant titleholder in the world.
Sounds like fun.
“It’s funny because, yeah, I’m definitely moving up, but my lifestyle is still very similar,” Blanchfield said. “I’m in the gym multiple times a day, and everybody I’ve been training with, I’ve been training with since I was like 15, 16 years old. So it’s nothing crazy. Everybody knows me. And your coaches still treat you the same. They’re still trying to make you better. You don’t have yes men that just think you’re amazing because you’ve been winning. No, they’re still always trying to get me better. They know that I can get better and that if I want to be the best in the world, I have to. So it’s kind of been the same. I’m super focused and I keep good people around me that keep me that way. And yeah, I’m just enjoying the process.”
