UFC 237 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Namajunas vs. Andrade
UFC 237 is stock full of intriguing matchups. A look at the odds for the card's biggest fights is a testament to strong matchmaking for the card.
Highlighting the evening will be a women's strawweight tilt that sees the champion as a slight underdog. Rose Namajunas will break her two-year rivalry with Joanna Jedrzejczyk to take on Jessica Andrade. The 27-year-old appears to be piquing as a strawweight, and her 6-1 record since dropping to 115 pounds sees her as a small favorite.
The trend of close odds continues as you work your way down the main card. The co-main event between aging legend Anderson Silva and Jared Cannonier is close to a pick 'em, as is the true second-best fight on the card between featherweights Jose Aldo and Alexander Volkanovski.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
It's a fun trilogy of fights to close the evening, and appearances from B.J. Penn and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira round out a heavily Brazilian card from Rio.
Odds: Action Network
UFC 237 Fight Card
Main Card (PPV on ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET)
- Rose Namajunas (EVEN; bet $100 to win $100); Jessica Andrade(-130; bet $100 to win 76.92)
- Jared Cannonier (-140); Anderson Silva (+110)
- Jose Aldo (-140); Alexander Volkanovski (+110)
- Thiago Alves (-120); Laureano Staropoli (-110)
- Irene Aldana (-305); Bethe Correia (+235)
Prelims (ESPN at 8 p.m. ET)
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (+115); Ryan Spann (-145)
- Thiago Moises (-130); Kurt Holobaugh (EVEN)
- Warlley Alves (-145); Sergio Moraes (+115)
- B.J. Penn (+450); Clay Guida (-700)
Prelims (Fight Pass at 6:15 p.m.)
- Luana Carolina (-175); Priscila Cachoeira (+145)
- Raoni Barcelos (-1000); Carlos Huachin Quiroz (+600)
- Talita Bernardo (-500); Viviane Araujo (+350)
Is Rose Namajunas a Dominant Champion?
Rose Namajunas' development into a champion hasn't been as quick as was anticipated during her run on The Ultimate Fighter, which culminated in a loss to Carla Esparza. However, she has learned from those losses to realize her potential as a champion.
Namajunas shocked the world with her first win over Jedrzejczyk, then legitimized it by doing it again in a rematch. Now the question is whether she can assert dominance over the rest of the division or if her wins over Joanna Violence were simply a product of a good matchup.
Andrade will be a great first test for the champion. She's been on a tear since moving to strawweight, and her forward movement and aggression are far different stylistically from Jedrzejczyk.
Namajunas hasn't fought anyone else other than her Polish rival for two years. Which means that she hasn't prepared for someone with the power and aggression that she'll see Saturday night.
Andrade, however, has struggled in the past with fighters who can keep her at range. Her own encounter with Jedrzejczyk was a lopsided decision loss.
Andrade has been promoted as a powerful, dynamic fighter in the buildup to this fight. While she has power, it hasn't necessarily translated to a high finish rate. She only has two TKO finishes in her last seven fights.
If Thug Rose can use her athleticism and quickness to turn this into a ranged kickboxing fight with grappling exchanges, she should be able to fight at a pace she can win. If she can do that, she'll legitimize her championship reign.
Prediction: Namajunas via decision
What Does Anderson Silva Have Left?
There's no denying it. Anderson Silva is a shell of what he once was.
The man who once ruled the middleweight division with his vicious Muay Thai and devastating counterstriking is 44 years old. He has one win in the last six years and hasn't finished an opponent since 2012. The name may be the same, but the deterioration is all too real.
Jared Cannonier is—by all accounts—a middle-of-the-road opponent. He's amassed a 4-4 record in the UFC while fighting in three different weight classes. His most impressive win came his last time out against David Branch when he scored a second-round TKO victory against the former World Series of Fighting Champion.
Even two or three years ago this would be a no-contest. A timid Cannonier would have cautiously entered striking range with Silva only to be melted by a counter knee, perfectly timed left hand or some other embarrassing end to the fight.
Now, it's being considered a tossup by the odds, which might be the greatest indication of the fall of Silva. The Spider might have one more Matrix-like finish in him. One more time he might unleash hellish knees from the clinch or simply outpoint an overly aggressive fighter.
The more likely result is another sad performance from the former great.
Prediction: Cannonier via third-round TKO
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
