THACKERVILLE, Okla. Arlene Blencowe thinks shes positioned herself as the No. 1 contender after this past Friday.

She defeated Leslie Smith by unanimous decision at Bellator 233, outpointing her on the strength of her jab en route to a 30-27 sweep on the judges scorecards.

Blencowe (13-7 MMA, 6-3 BMMA) was narrowly edged out by current 145-pound champion Julia Budd nearly two years ago at Bellator 189 for the womens featherweight title. It was her second loss to the champ.

Since then, Blencowe has won three in a row and thinks shes done enough to get the next title shot against the winner of Budd and Cris Cyborg, who are set to fight for Budds title at Bellator 236 on Jan. 25.

Obviously, since my controversial split decision loss to Julia, Ive just worked my way back into the next title shot, Blencowe told MMA Junkie after her win over Smith. I knew just getting wins is what I needed. I got two stoppage wins. I was hoping for a third win by stoppage, but we also knew that Leslie was a tough girl, so she doesnt go down easy. But I definitely I think Ive earned my spot to get another shot at the title.

And while avenging her loss to Budd is definitely on her mind, a stylistic matchup against Cyborg is also something that interests her.

To be honest, if its Julia, yeah, that would be awesome, Blencowe said. Ive got some redemption to do there. But Cyborgs another awesome fight. Id love to stand in there and bang it out with her. Ill just be sitting back in January, just excited to watch a good, quality fight, and I think both girls are going to be absolutely awesome.

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Arlene Blencowe thinks she's earned another title shot with win over Leslie Smith at Bellator 233 - MMA Junkie