UFC 237: 10 things we learned

E. Spencer Kyte

UFC 237: 10 things we learned image
A night that wasn’t expected to be anything special turned into one of the most memorable events so far this year, capped by a slam knockout and a new champion being crowned.

UFC pay-per-view events seem to fall into two categories as they’re coming together — the can’t-miss shows like the upcoming summer offerings in Chicago and Las Vegas and the “you can probably skip this one” types.

Saturday night’s event at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil fell into the latter category for most fans, as a card headlined by a strawweight title fight and built around Brazilian legends searching for one more big win at home wasn’t enough to get fans and media all that excited in the preamble to the face-punching.

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But when the smoke cleared and the results were tallied, UFC 237 turned out to be one of the more memorable events of the year, as several upstarts impressed and new contenders emerged before the main event ended with a bang.

Here’s a look at the biggest takeaways and talking points from Saturday’s action.

These are 10 things we learned at UFC 237.

1. Jessica Andrade, UFC Champion

Jessica Andrade is the new UFC strawweight champion, capturing the title with a second-round slam knockout win over Rose Namajunas in Saturday night’s main event.

Though it only lasted a little less than eight minutes, this bout was a perfect encapsulation of what makes the new champion such a joy to watch in the cage and a nightmare to face.

Through the opening five minutes, Namajunas pieced up the challenger, picking her apart with precision striking and outstanding footwork, leaving Andrade swinging at air numerous times and successfully defending one of the Brazilian’s signature scoop slams. Busted up, but undeterred, Andrade marched forward to start the second, looking to force the champion into a grimy battle while starting to find a home for some of her wide, powerful hooks.

Midway through the round, Andrade landed a right hand that served as the opening for her to close the distance and attack another takedown attempt. When Namajunas again threatened with a kimura just as she had in the first, Andrade fought off the hold and hoisted Namajunas into the air, tossing her to the canvas in a heap.

 

 

The impact knocked Namajunas out cold, bringing the fight to an end and sending both Andrade and the crowd into celebration mode. After coming up short in her first bid to claim the title at UFC 211, the diminutive Brazilian powerhouse made the most of her second chance, capturing the belt in dramatic fashion and earning herself a pair of bonus checks in the process.

2. Uncertain future for Rose Namajunas

Shortly after the event ended, I went downstairs to say hello to my wife and take my dogs around the block. When she asked me how the fights went, I relayed what happened in the main event, as my wife has always like Namajunas. I then said I wasn’t sure if the former titleholder would ever compete again.

When Namajunas made the media rounds following the event, she admitted to being uncertain about what her future holds, acknowledging that she was feeling that way heading into the event.

The now former champion has never been a fan of the spotlight and was deeply shaken by Conor McGregor’s bus attack last April, which was the last time she had fought prior to Saturday night. She’s happy living a simple life, growing her own vegetables, playing piano and being a homebody in Colorado and she’s already reached the pinnacle of the sport, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see her walk away at this point.

I really thought the post-fight conversation about Namajunas’ comments in the cage to Jon Anik about the title being a major weight off her shoulders between Daniel Cormier and Dominick Cruz was great, as everything Cormier said was valid and made complete sense knowing what kind of competitor he is and everything he’s been through personally and professionally to get to where he’s at in his career.

That said, Cruz’s counterpoints where sharp as well, highlighting that not all these athletes are wired the same way and expecting them to all feel the same way about competing is foolish.

3. Jared Cannonier’s breakout performance gets overshadowed

Jared Cannonier fought a perfect fight in his co-main event assignment against Anderson Silva — he came out of the gate attacking with hard inside and outside leg kicks and kept the pressure on the legendary Brazilian from the outset. He landed a smattering of power shots, punched his way out of the clinch and refused to get sucked into a staring contest against the long-time middleweight champion.

Then, late in the opening round, he slammed a kick into the inside of Silva’s right leg and the veteran collapsed, writhing in pain as referee Herb Dean waved off the fight. And just like that, his breakout performance became a secondary story.

This wasn’t a freak accident like when Chris Weidman checked Silva’s leg kick and the veteran broke his leg; this was a series of calculated attacks toppling a decorated talent and the fact that Silva got injured shouldn’t detract from what Cannonier did on Saturday night.

In his two fights since relocating to middleweight, the former heavyweight has registered two stoppage wins and has to now be considered a dark horse contender in the wide-open 185-pound ranks.

4. This should probably be the end for Anderson Silva

Following the fight, Silva explained that his knee had been bothering him throughout training camp and just couldn’t hold up to the barrage of punishing kicks Cannonier landed throughout the fight. While there was no word on the severity of Silva’s injuries at the time of this writing, it looked bad — torn ligaments, surgery required, spend a year on the shelf bad.

If that’s the case, this should probably be the end for “The Spider.”

He turned 44 a month ago and is now 1-6 with one No Contest dating back to his first encounter with Chris Weidman. He’s already dealt with one major leg injury, two PED-related suspensions and is clearly a shadow of the once-great fighter who ruled the middleweight division for an unprecedented amount of time.

While he wants to keep competing, there is really no reason for the UFC to continue rolling him out there, especially if this latest injury means he’s going to be sidelined for an extended period of time. It’s not how you want to see an all-time great go out, but it’s also a reminder of how cruel and unforgiving this sport can be, regardless of who you are.

5. Alexander Volkanovski next in line after defeating Jose Aldo

Australia’s Alexander Volkanovski pushed his record to 7-0 in the UFC and extended his overall winning streak to 16 with a unanimous decision victory over Jose Aldo in Saturday night’s most anticipated fight.

Though it was slow at time and far from the fireworks display many anticipated, the former rugby man did exactly what he needed to do in order to secure the victory and cement his place as the top contender in the featherweight division.

He worked low kicks and stayed active, as Aldo looked for perfect shots and let two rounds slip away. When the Brazilian looked to turn up the pace in the third, Volkanovski wisely worked into the clinch, grinding Aldo against into fence and trapping him there, staying busy enough for referee Marc Goddard to allow him to maintain the position.

Still unbeaten in the UFC and on a run that includes wins over Jeremy Kennedy, Darren Elkins, Chad Mendes and now Aldo, Volkanovski should get the next crack at Max Holloway if the Hawaiian opts to return to featherweight and defend his title.

While Frankie Edgar and his team have been campaigning hard to get a fight with Holloway lined up, the reality is that Volkanovski did something that Edgar twice failed to do and he did it in Rio, no less. Plus, a single win over Cub Swanson shouldn’t be enough to earn “The Answer” a title shot, no matter what kind of career he’s had or how much of a company man he’s been over the years.

Volkanovski has next.

6. Huge victory for Ryan Spann

Saying the light heavyweight division is bereft of young talent is a favorite pastime of fans and media alike, but Saturday night, Ryan Spann showed once again that the argument is false as the Fortis MMA product collected a first-round stoppage win over veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira.

“Superman” had an appreciable speed advantage and put it to good use, stinging Nogueira early and quickly getting the fight to the ground, where he climbed into mount and attacked an arm triangle choke. While “Little Nog” defended well, he was no match for the Texan, who came forward and connected with a lead uppercut that dropped the Brazilian veteran and brought the fight to an end.

After an uneven performance in his debut, Spann showed why he carried a great deal of buzz heading into each of his two appearances on the Contender Series and into that first foray into the UFC cage. With great size for the division, a strong submission game and clearly improving hands, the 27-year-old has the potential to make some noise in the 205-pound ranks during the second half of 2019.

7. Walk-off win for Warlley Alves

Through the first nine fights of his UFC career, Warlley Alves had to be considered an underachiever. Despite holding a first-round submission win over top contender and general pest Colby Covington, the TUF: Brazil winner had struggled to find consistency and turn his immense potential into sustained positive results.

Saturday night against Sergio Moraes, Alves put it all together, delivering the best performance of his career and capping it off with a walk-off knockout.

Alves was patient and stuck to the game plan, brutalizing Moraes with leg kicks and avoiding the wildness he displayed in his previous loss to James Krause. He stayed in Moraes’ face all night without over-extending and when it was clear that his countryman was starting to fade and really get worn down, that’s when Alves finally opened up, ending the bout with an hellacious uppercut that sent “The Panther” crashing to the canvas.

One performance doesn’t change everything for Alves, but this was as good as he’s ever looked and if he’s legitimately starting to figure things out and fight to his full potential, the welterweight division could have a new Brazilian contender on its hands.

8. BJ Penn doesn’t belong in the Octagon anymore

BJ Penn lost his seventh consecutive fight on Saturday night, landing on the wrong side of the results against Clay Guida in a bout where the best things you can say about Penn’s performance is that he didn’t look terrible and he didn’t get finished.

When that’s the best you can muster, it’s time to stop booking him to fight.

Penn lasted all 15 minutes, but started fading midway through the second. If he were fighting someone with a little more power in their hands and a little more straightforward aggressiveness, he probably would have been finished. He’s now 1-9-1 in his last 11 appearances and hasn’t won a fight since knocking out Matt Hughes at UFC 123.

This isn’t like Silva where he’s hanging tough against top competition and still shows flashes of brilliance — this is a guy who simply can’t walk away, but there is no justification for the UFC continuing to book him going forward.

9. Introducing Viviane Araujo

Brazilian newcomer Viviane Araujo kicked off the night with one of the most impressive debuts of the year, collecting a walk-off knockout win over Talita Bernardo to get the evening started in Rio.

A natural strawweight, the 32-year-old accepted the short-notice opportunity to compete up two divisions at the outset of fight week. With zero time to prep, she waltzed into the Octagon and looked right at home, using her speed and movement to outwork Bernardo over the first 10 minutes before detonating a clean right hand on her jaw less than a minute into the third to bring the fight to a sudden halt.

The Cerrado MMA product now becomes an intriguing name to follow, regardless of where she opts to settle, as her footwork, speed and sound fundamentals play whether she stays at bantamweight or drops down a division or two.

10. One more time for the people in the back

UFC 237 was all kinds of fun, with seven finishes, a couple entertaining decisions, some breakthrough efforts and Andrade emphatically removing Namajunas from the top of the strawweight division to close out the show.

It was also the umpteenth reminder that you don’t need massive names to have a terrific fight card and what matters most are the types of matchups and the performances themselves.

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Passing on this event means you would have missed four “no doubt” stoppages. Two of which were delivered by emerging contenders, while another came courtesy of a new arrival, as well as an incredibly fun championship clash that ended dramatically and Volkanovski becoming just the third man to beat Aldo inside the Octagon.

There weren’t any big names on this card outside Silva and Aldo and the main event didn’t get people buzzing the way some championship fights do, but from start to finish, this card delivered and it doesn’t come as a surprise to anyone who took the time to research the matchups and look beyond the lack of star power.

If all you’re focused on are big names, you’re going to miss a lot of great fights and probably passed up on what turned out to be a hell of a show on Saturday night in Rio.   

E. Spencer Kyte