Jessica Andrade now faces Erin Blanchfield in new UFC Vegas 69 main event

A last-second change has been made to the UFC Vegas 69 main event with Erin Blanchfield now set to face Jessica Andrade in a five-round showdown at flyweight.

The UFC announced the change during the UFC 284 broadcast on Saturday.

Blanchfield’s original opponent Taila Santos opted not to compete on Feb. 18 after two of her coaches were denied visas into the United States. That ultimately led to the one-time flyweight title challenger dropping out of the fight, which necessitated the late switch.

With Santos out, the UFC secured Andrade as a replacement after she just fought at UFC 283 a few weeks ago where she decimated Lauren Murphy in a lopsided decision over three rounds.

Overall, Andrade is 3-0 in her past three fights as she bounced back and forth between flyweight and strawweight since losing a title fight to 125-pound queen Valentina Shevchenko in 2021.

As for Blanchfield, the 23-year-old prospect will look to keep her seven-fight win streak intact, which includes four victories in the UFC. Most recently, Blanchfield earned an impressive first round submission finish over Molly McCann at UFC 281.

Now Blanchfield clashes with Andrade in the new main event at UFC Vegas 69, which takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas.

Guilherme Cruz contributed to this report.