This Saturday’s pay-per-view offering in Brazil isn’t as strong as the others we’ve had this year. But consider this: the main event should be an action-packed title fight. You’ve also got two living legends bolstering the headliner.
- Date & Time
- May 10th, 2019 10:00pm
- Location
- Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Media Coverage
- Pay-per-view
This Saturday’s pay-per-view offering in Brazil isn’t as strong as the others we’ve had this year. But consider this: the main event should be an action-packed title fight. You’ve also got two living legends bolstering the headliner. While this card might be weak in terms of buys, it should be rich in action.
Women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas heads into hostile territory to meet Jessica Andrade - who in my humble opinion is the funnest fighter at 115 pounds. Should Andrade seize the strap, Brazilians would hold a monopoly on every UFC women’s belt; Amanda Nunes is currently the double champ at bantam and featherweight.
Anderson Silva, who is clearly in the “fun fights” stage of his career, gets a fun fight against Jared Cannonier. Silva is coming off a surprisingly competitive scrap against now-interim champ Israel Adesanya, and Cannonier looks to build on an upset win over David Branch. Cannonier’s explosive striking is a compelling contrast to Silva’s deep, creative arsenal.
Jose Aldo seems like he’s been around forever, but he’s still just 32 years old. While he’s 3-3 in his past six, those losses came against Conor McGregor and Max Holloway. As for those wins: an easy decision against Frankie Edgar, a first-round TKO of Jeremy Stephens, and a second-round pasting over the rising Moicano. He’s still got it, and will look to end the hype of Australian Alex Volkanovski.
We’ve got a lot to cover here, so let’s jump right into your best online betting picks. Make sure to check out our top-5 online sportsbooks for UFC odds, as prices can vary from book to book.
Main Event, Women’s Strawweight Championship
Rose Namajunas -102
Jessica Andrade -128
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: +105 / -145
Rose is the underdog, again.
Thug’s second title defense marks the third straight title fight where she will enter the cage an underdog. The girl just can’t get any respect. The assumptions here are that “Bate Estaca” will be too powerful, too physical and too relentless for the champ. Andrade is built like a tank, lands nearly seven strikes a minute and specializes in suplexing her opponents. What do you expect from a woman whose nickname literally translates to “pile driver”?
Those assumptions are primarily drawn from Rose’s only loss in her past six fights: she was bullied around by Karolina Kowalkiewicz, who isn’t a particularly a strong strawweight to begin with. It’s a bit unfair to hold that against her here, as Rose proved that she’s evolved, and she’s also just reached her athletic prime. Still, you can just look at the two - Rose is long and lanky, while Andrade is stout and muscular - and easily surmise who is the stronger fighter.
Our Pick: Andrade to win at -128
Though Andrade opened around -175, early action on Namajunas has driven her line up nearly 30 points. That’s good news for you, as we generally agree with the assumptions that Andrade will bully the champ. J-Check was able to flummox Andrade with long-range striking, but Namajunas doesn’t have the same type of takedown defense to reenact that fight. This is a strong price on Andrade.
Middleweight
Anderson Silva +127
Jared Cannonier -180
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -170 / +130
The Incredible Shrinking Man
It’s crazy to think that Cannonier started his UFC career as a heavyweight. After dropping to 205 and hitting a wall, he made good on his middleweight debut by upsetting David Branch. In hindsight, that win is dulled since Branch can’t seem to buy a win, but it still shows that Cannonier cannot be taken lightly despite a mediocre octagon record.
Why is Silva such a big underdog here? It probably has a lot to do with his age - the man is 44 and noticeably slowing down. He’s especially vulnerable against strong wrestlers, but Cannonier has never been a guy to commit to taking down his opponents. We expect this matchup to play out on the feet, and Cannonier’s explosive barrages could give the old lion a ton of trouble. Then again, Silva just went the distance with Adesanya and held his own nicely.
Our Pick: Silva to win at +127
This fight could be a bit of a drag, as both guys aren’t really high volume fighters. Strikers like Cannonier and Adesanya tend to respect Silva’s skills too much and don’t want to get lit up by still potent counters. That makes this much closer to a toss-up than the lopsided odds suggest, which is we love the price on Silva.
Featherweight
Alex Volkanovski +115
Jose Aldo -145
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: -110 / -130
Time to Prove It, Alex
Volkanovski enters the cage on a 16-fight winning streak, most recently knocking out Chad Mendes for the biggest win of his career. With Holloway licking his wounds after a failed title challenge at lightweight, the Australian can lock up a shot at the Hawaiian with a win here. Unless Conor McGregor decides he wants to come back to featherweight of course (not happening).
Aldo’s unbeatable aura has been shattered, but he’s still the No. 1 contender, and he’s still an elite 145er. The only guys to beat him possessed transcendent skills - McGregor with his power/timing and Holloway with his chin/cardio/pressure. It seems that Aldo has lost a step, and a few fighters have finally caught up to him. Is Volkanovski one of those guys?
An aggressive boxer/wrestler, Volkanovski cannot get tunnel vision into trying to take Aldo down. Nobody, not even Frankie Edgar, has been able to beat him with that approach. But Holloway and Stephens proved that constant pressure also makes him uncomfortable, and Volkanovski is a tireless work horse who loves close quarters combat.
Our pick: Aldo to win at -145
While Volkanovski has the chin and style to do what Max did, he doesn’t have the champ’s height and range. Aldo was able to outclass both Stephens and Moicano, and we don’t see Volkanovski as a better striker than either of those guys. Aldo should be able to pick apart his opponent and take the decision.
Bet on UFC odds
Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available. UFC 237 takes place on Saturday, May 10 2019 at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main card airs on pay-per-view starting 10pm ET.
