Following a 13-month layoff Rose Namajunas will return to the octagon to defend her strawweight championship against Jessica Andrade. This matchup of top female MMA stars will headline the card as the main event with the UFC Betting Odds for UFC 237. Additionally, the card does feature some long time respected and legendary stars on the male side. Among them are Anderson Silva in the co-main event against Jared Cannonier. Another Brazilian legend, Jose Aldo, is on the main card against Alex Volkanovski. All told this event from Brazil will have unmistakable local and global appeal.
UFC 237 Namajunas vs. Andrade
Date and Time: Saturday, May 11, 2019
Location: Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
MMA Betting Online Odds: Jessica Namajunas +115 vs. Jessica Andrade -135, Diego Ferreira -165 vs. Francisco Trinaldo +145, Anderson Silva +130 vs. Jared Cannonier -150, Jose Aldo -150 vs. Alex Volkanovski +130
UFC 237 TV Coverage: Pay Per View ESPN+
Andrade vs. Namajunas
While Jessica Andrade is the challenger, she is also the betting favorite with the UFC Betting Odds. Perhaps it’s the fact that she has won three bouts in a row and six of her last seven overall. Namajunas last fought in April of 2018 when she scored a unanimous decision win over Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Keep in mind that Namajunas scored a win against an opponent that was considered unbeatable her last time out. Also factoring into the bout is that Andrade lost her only previous championship bout opportunity against Jedrzejczyk.
Certainly, Andrade is celebrated and respected for her knockout power. Balanced against that is the impressive manner in which Namajunas knocked out the once seemingly invincible Jedrzejczyk. Ultimate the difference could come down to the fact that Namajunas has the proven record of being able to beat the very best.
Silva vs. Cannonier
Now Jared Cannonier has loved down to the middleweight division and is off to a great start by doing so. Cannonier, on short notice, took on David Branch at UFC 230 and scored a knockout offshore bookmaker win. As a result of the win he moved up the rankings and gets the shot at Silva. Late on Silva is seen by some as yesterday’s news. To illuminate Silva has posted only one win in his last seven bouts. His last fight was a unanimous decision loss to Israel Adesanya in a three-round matchup.
Silva did show the ability to hang with a quality opponent in his last bout. However, he was still not able to get the win. At the end of the fight it was considered to be a poor matchup for the loser. As for Cannonier he may have found a much better home in the middleweight division. Consider his struggles in the light heavyweight division.
Matchup to Watch
On this occasion we get two high-quality big-name bouts with the UFC Betting Odds. Namajunas will be defending her belt in Andrade’s back yard home country. Still he rates as a dangerous live dog with bite. By contrast Silva was once a rare underdog back in his prime. But those days are long gone. Without question Cannonier is the much more impressive and capable fighter in the matchup.
UFC 237 Betting Odds Picks
In sum Jared Cannonier and Rose Namajunas rate as the better choices.
UFC 237 Betting Online Picks: Jared Cannonier and Rose Namajunas
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