UFC 237: Namajunas vs Andrade
What a crazy night of fights!
UFC 237: Namajunas vs Andrade took place on May 11, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It was a bad night for the Brazilians, they went 1-5 on the main card. But man did the main event make up for it.
Bethe Correia lost by armbar in the third round in which was a very close contested fight.
Thiago Alves faced Laureano Staropoli which went the distance in favor of Staropoli. In the first round Staropoli was mixing it up well, throwing kicks, elbows, and constantly switching stances. Alves looked as if he didn’t know when to throw and had trouble reading Staropoli. I gave that 1st round to Staropoli. Alves opened up much more in the second, being the aggressor but Staropoli was game and refused to back down.
I though Alves landed the better shots and did enough to take that round. In the third Staropoli turned up the pressure and was winning all of the striking exchanges up until Alves landed some bombs and a knee to the face that dropped Staropoli. Based on damage I though that last minute flurry was enough to give Alves the round. The judges thought otherwise, scoring the bout 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 awarding Staropoli the win.
Next up was Alexander Volkanovski vs Jose Aldo in what I was sure was going to be an exciting fight. Alexander Volkanovski looked sensational in his last fight against Mendes, knocking him out in a slugfest. The round started with Aldo taking the center of the octagon and refusing to back down. Volkanovski, although not landing big shots, was just outworking Aldo in what would be the theme of the fight. Volkanovski stayed in the pocket, landed good leg kicks, and basically neutralized Aldo’s offense.
Aldo did land some good body shots, but was basically head hunting, meanwhile Volkanovski was racking up points, putting Aldo up against the fence and at one point landing 10 hard knees in a row to Aldo’s thighs. This was a clean sweep for Volkanovski as he earned a unanimous 30-27 on the judge’s scorecards. During the post-fight interview, he made his case to fight for the title next saying he is the only undefeated fighter in the top three.
Next up was Anderson Silva vs Jared Cannonier. The fight started off with Jared Cannonier looking tentative. He wasn’t pulling the trigger, meanwhile Anderson was making good reads and throwing flashy kicks and good body shots. But then out of nowhere Cannonier landed a hard-inside leg kick which sent Silva down to the canvas wincing in pain. Cannonier went to follow up with some ground and pound but never got the chance as Herb Dean stepped in and saved Silva.
Cannonier stopped Silva via TKO in the first round. Afterwards Cannonier couldn’t really give a post-fight interview due to the intensity of the boos from the Brazilian fans. Silva later stated that during training his knee was already not doing that well and Cannonier put the stamp on that injury when he landed that inside leg kick. The commentators said that most likely something tore.
Now we have our Main Event. “Thug” Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade. The first five minutes was just a masterclass performance by Rose. She was too quick and too creative. She kept landing the same jab over and over at will, cutting Andrade open in the first minute of the first round. She was landing kicks, hooks, jabs, and dropped Andrade with a knee to the face. Andrade went for her signature slam, but Rose countered with an armbar attempt. It looked like Andrade wasn’t going to last long if she kept taking punishment like that.
The second round started with more of the same, Rose dominating the standup by controlling the distance. Andrade went for the same slam and KO’d Rose!! When hoisted up, rose went for the same defense by going for a submission but Andrade adjusted and Rose made the mistake of not letting go, causing her to get piledriven on to her neck, instantly knocking her out. The Brazilian crowd went nuts as all of their fighters before this lost on the main card. The replay was horrible as it showed Rose landing directly on her head. Afterwards Rose said she was relieved to have a huge pressure off her. Andrade def. Rose Namajunas via Slam KO in the second round to become the new UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion!
All in all, I was excited and anxious to see Aldo and Silva fight. Aldo just couldn’t pull the trigger, waited to long and got outpointed. Silva, I thought looked great but unfortunately the night was cut short by what I hope is not a career ending injury. The main event made up for the earlier fights that didn’t live up to the hype in a crazy come from behind victory by Jessica Andrade slamming KO of Rose Namajunas to capture the title. All in all, I think the main event was definitely worth the price of PPV.