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The UFC returns to Rio de Janeiro with style.
Jessica Andrade, one of Brazil's favorite fighting girls, is poised to take advantage of her second chance to win a world title by defying Rose Namajunas for the featherweight title in the main event. UFC 237. Apart from Namajunas and long-time champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk, there are hardly any women as feared as Andrade, a rare specimen with an unbeatable power of 115 pounds.
For Namajunas, she has the chance to further legitimize her reign after twice defeating Jedrzejczyk. It's been a year since her last appearance, leaving a doubt as to whether she will be in top shape to face a threat like Andrade, but Namajunas has already defeated the previous predictions and she would like to silence a crowd of Brazilians screaming Saturday .
The living legend, Anderson Silva, will defend one of Jared Cannonier's middleweights, though at this point Silva's real enemy is Father Time, who is sure to remain undefeated. Would a return to Rio reinvigorate "The Spider" and make it win?
In the other card category, Alexander Volkanovski hopes to improve his score to 7-0 at UFC when he faces dual featherweight champion Jose Aldo while veteran welterweight champion Thiago Alves , will face unproven Argentina, Laureano Staropoli, and Irene Aldana against Bethe Correia. in a fight of 141 pounds.
What: UFC 237
Or: Youth Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
When: Saturday, May 11th. The preliminary map of three fights starts at 18:30. ET will air on the UFC Fight Pass, followed by a preliminary map of four fights on ESPN at 8pm. AND. The main pay-per-view card of five fights starts at 22 hours. AND and is available for purchase exclusively via ESPN +.
Rose Namajunas against Jessica Andrade
Overcoming Joanna Jedrzejczyk twice has not been an easy task for Rose Namajunas, but even the great Jedrzejczyk does not have the power to stop Jessica Andrade. Few fighters at the UFC do it, straw weights or whatever. Andrade's nickname, "Bata Estaca", could not describe it more precisely. She is an absolute piledriver with her blows, but imagine if this piledriver was also able to tie you up, throw you on the head and choke you.
It has limitations, as evidenced by its own unsuccessful attempt to defeat Jedrzejczyk, limitations that can be exploited by the ever-changing Namajunas. It can be argued that Namajunas' five-round victory over Jedrzejczyk was even more impressive than the speed with which he qualified for the first time. "Thug Rose" showed composure, maturity, accuracy and highlighted an opponent who seemed unbeatable when he was making the distance.
Namajunas has always been a good athlete who uses her range well, which she will have to do to avoid Andrade's blitz style. At the same time, his strong fight will be of inestimable value when Andrade will inevitably reduce the distance. Clinic work is essential to defusing Andrade's explosive attack.
The road to victory for Andrade seems to be to bring Namajunas at the earliest, but she proved by a decisive victory over Tecia Torres and Claudia Gadelha that she was more than a crazy brawler. If she does not run out of wanting to crush Namajunas early, the champion might have a hard time surviving a 25-minute war.
We are ready for what could be one of the most exciting fights in the history of weights, regardless of the winner. Namajunas playing the matador for five rounds, Andrade constantly advancing to watch his prey. I'm counting on Namajunas's chin to hold on and for her to win enough tricks to successfully defend her title, leaving the bull's bloodlust unsatisfied that day.
The choice: Namajunas
Anderson Silva vs. Jared Cannonier
Jared Cannonier is exactly the kind of nifty but unspectable opponent Anderson Silva used to make minced meat at its peak. However, "the spider" is not really in its strength anymore, is it?
That's what makes Cannonier so intriguing. It's as if the 35-year-old catches Silva, 44, at the right time. He is a solid striker with a legitimate KO power that is only more pronounced at 185 pounds. Although Silva has always been hard to hit, the former champion has been reluctant to pull the trigger these days as his age has taken over. That cost him against Israel Adesanya and almost against Derek Brunson.
Nevertheless, Silva's defensive skills are still excellent and the reason most opponents are still reluctant to engage him in a decisive battle. Even the future two-division UFC champion, Daniel Cormier, knew that it was better than fighting against Silva, instead preferring to scold Silva and compete for a decisive victory.
Cannonier will not have this option. He will have to exchange with Silva, a scenario on which many fighters probably fantasize and imagine winning, to discover that the reality is much darker. Silva remains one of the best forwards in this sport and I am not convinced that Cannonier has the stand-up vocabulary to silence Silva or surpass him.
Add to that the support of the Brazilian crowd and can I say that it is Silva who finds the arrival here?
The choice: Silva
Jose Aldo against Alexander Volkanovski
When the match was booked, he immediately recalled two fights for the title of Jose Aldo with his long-time opponent, Chad Mendes. This is a useful comparison, as Mendes and Volkanovski have similar measures and skills.
Volkanovski may not have the pedigree of Mendes's fight, but he is not afraid of getting involved in downsizing or at least the threat of withdrawal to keep his opponents out of balance. He is also a much more varied forward and has literally shown that he was the top version of Mendes when he eliminated the Alpha Male fighter by TKO in the second round of their meeting last December. If Aldo does not respect Volkanovski's stand-up, he risks getting a stomach ache.
And you know that Volkanovski will respect the Aldo strikes. The double featherweight champion has been as lethal as ever in his last two outings, punishing Renato Moicano and Jeremy Stephens for believing he could match him on his feet. Aldo still has some of the best counter-hitters in the area and also completes his climax attacks with a devastating body work that can defeat the toughest enemies.
If the worst thing you can say about the current day, Aldo, is that he can not beat Max Holloway, it's not really an indictment, and I prefer him against anyone 145 pounds. Including Volkanovski.
The choice: Aldo
Thiago Alves against Laureano Staropoli
Laureano Staropoli presents an intriguing challenge for Thiago Alves. He is tall and light, and more than willing to speed up the pace if Alves gets up early. For Staropoli, 26, it would be a huge win if he could add Alves' name to his hit list.
Alves' strike has always been so strong in his last match against Max Griffin. Although he struggled to stop Griffin's grounding, his trademark kick-boxing earned him a shared victory. It will come out even better with an opponent who will try to show that he is not intimidated by Alves. The length of Staropoli could pose some problems to Alves, but the Brazilian is used to being a disadvantage in terms of range and he will punish Staropoli whenever the distance will be reduced.
This should be an entertaining three rounds that ends with Alves winning a second consecutive decision win.
The choice: Alves
Bethe Correia against Irene Aldana
I love Irene Aldana here, although her tendency to fight could lead to her downfall. Bethe Correia is not exactly the hardest target to reach. Therefore, if Aldana wants to miss out on her strikes, she will probably be a big hit. Correia will be able to show its hardness here, for better or for worse.
Correia is missing so much weight that what was supposed to be a lean weight could have an advantage over her strength, but it could also mean that her conditioning will suffer a major blow and that it is not good against a volume attacker. high as Aldana. A fast pace will exhaust Correia quickly, which will leave her little to offer in the last few runs while Aldana moves away.
The choice: Aldana
undercard
Ryan Spann def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Thiago Moises def. Kurt Holobaugh
Sergio Moraes def. Warlley Alves
Clay Guida def. B.J. Penn
Luana Carolina def. Priscila Cachoeira
Raoni Barcelos def. Carlos Huachin
Viviane Araujo def. Talita Bernardo
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