Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 237 goes down in Rio. The main event will see Rose Namajunas attempting to defend her women’s strawweight title for the second time when she meets rugged Brazilian challenger Jessica Andrade. The main card will also feature Brazilian stars like Anderson Silva, who meets Jared Cannonier; and Jose Aldo, who faces off with Alexander Volkanovski. This post will cover the main PPV card. The show kicks off on Fight Pass at approximately 6:30pm ET with three fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8pm ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card. Remember that you can only order UFC PPVs now through ESPN+, so you have to sign up for that service beforehand if you haven’t already. The full lineup and schedule follows. The preliminary card will be covered in a separate post. Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup. Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade Round 1 - Namajunas jabbing and moving. Nice right from Namajunas. Again. Andrade charges in but eats a counter left. Her eye is already damaged. Leg kick from Andrade. Hard 1-2 from Rose! She follows it up with two more shots. Andrade gets clipped with a counter left. Andrade grabs an arm, scoops her up and slams her but Namajunas immediately locks up an armbar! Andrade backs out. Namajunas looks for a takedown but can’t get it. Andrade’s face is a bloody mess. Namajunas with nice jabs. Low kick from Andrade. Left from Namajunas. Namajunas with a big knee in the clinch that drops Andrade! She jumps on her with hammerfists and looks for a front choke as Andrade gets up. Great action to start. Leg kick from Andrade. Counter left hook from Namajunas. Andrade with a leg kick and and right. Side kick from Namajunas. 10-8 Namajunas. Round 2 - Leg kick from Andrade. Jab from Rose. They trade shots. Andrade with a combo and she’s chasing. Namajunas is running backwards with her hands down, looking to counter. Dangerous. Two lefts from Namajunas. Straight left. Andrade misses twice. Namajunas can’t get a takedown. Leg kick from Andrade. Andrade with a leg kick. Two counter lefts from Thug Rose. Andrade presses and lands a knee. Andrade picks Rose up and slams her on the mat. She is out cold! Andrade is the new champ! Jessica Andrade defeated Rose Namajunas via KO (slam), 2:58 of round 2 Jared Cannonier vs. Anderson Silva Round 1 - Slow start, which is par for the course for Anderson. Leg kick from Cannonier. Another. He misses with two right hooks. Another leg kick. Silva hadn’t thrown a thing until two minutes in when he lands a body kick. Cannonier walks Anderson down and lands a eg kick. Silva responds with his own, then his a jumping switch kick. Right hook from Cannonier, and again. Silva with an elbow but he can’t lock up the Thai clinch. Silva with a front kick to the body. Cannonier with an inside leg kick. Cannonier with a slapping right hook. He goes to the body. Jab. Silva whiffs on a head kick and spins thatrically. Cannonier lands a hard kick to the knee and Silva goes down injured. It’s over just like that. Jared Cannonier defeated Anderson Silva via TKO (leg kick), 4:47 of round 1 Jose Aldo vs. Alexander Volkanovski Round 1 - Inside leg kick from Volkanovski. Aldo taking his time. Body kick from Volkanovski, and a low kick. A steady stream of light kicks from the Australian. Aldo is walking him down. Left hook counter from Aldo. Two inside leg kicks from Volkanovski. Aldo clubs the body. Leg kick from Aldo. Jab from Volkanovski. Aldo fires back. Aldo steps to the side with a hard right hook. Low kick as well. Volkanovski goes to the body and ties Aldo up against the fence. Aldo with a left. Knee and a right from Aldo. Counter left. 10-9 Volkanovski. Round 2 - Steady stream of kicks from Volkanovski again to start. Big overhand right scores for Volkanovski. Aldo with a straight right. Jab from Volkanovski. Aldo with a solid left jab. Volkanovski nodded at that. Knee from Aldo in close. Lead left hook from Aldo. Volkanovski with a long jab. Elbow from Volkanovski. Apparently Aldo got poked in the eye during it. He gets a hard warning from Marc Goddard. Aldo starts back up with a leg kick. Volkanovski with a lead left hook but eats a counter. Volkanovski ties Aldo up against th efence. He lands a bevy of knees to Aldo’s leg. Aldo gets a body lock reverses position. Volkanovski reverses right back. Aldo spins away. Volkanovski with a lead left. 10-9 Volkanovski. Round 3 - Volkanovski with a leg kick. Aldo fights out of a clinch. Volkanovski with a counter left. They trade rights. Volkanovski bulies Aldo over to the fence. Volkanovski just leaning on him and throwing knees. Aldo’s running out of time. He gets separation. Body kick from Volkanovski. Knee up the middle from Aldo. Volkanovski with a combo. Volkanovski gets him against the fence again. Killing some time there. He steps back and lands a couple of punches. Aldo didn’t even really show up. 10-9 and 30-27 Volkanovski. Alexander Volkanovski defeated Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Thiago Alves vs. Laureano Staropoli Round 1 - Tepid start. Alves hasn’t thrown anything a minute in. Staropoli has thrown a couple of body kicks. That’s it. Alves finally wades in with a combo that comes up short. Staropoli kicks the legs. Leg kick from Alves but he eats a right. Nice combo from Staropoli. Staropoli spins but misses. Alves with a left. Staropoli goes to the body. Leg kick from Alves but he takes a right in the grill again. Alves with a right. Spinning back kick from Staropoli. Inside leg kick from Alves. Now to the outside. Staropoli misses with a flying knee. Body kick from Alves. Alves with a big right over the top. 10-9 Staropoli. Round 2 - Alves immediately pressing. Staropoli not nearly as flashy as he was in round one. He caught Alves off balance though and jumps on his back. Alves up quickly. Spinning elbow from Staropoli. Body kick from Alves. They trade right hooks. Alves with the low kick. Staropoli jabbing. Big combo from Staropoli. Alves back to the low kick. Big flurry from Alves. Staropoli digs to the body. Left hook from Staropoli. Counter right from Alves. Good combo from Alves. 10-9 Staropoli. Round 3 - They brawl to start. Staropoli with a combo. Alves with a knee and a takedown. Staropoli up quick though. Big body shot from Staropoli. Alves with an outside leg kick. Staropoli lands to the body, but Alves cracks him with a right hook. They trade. Alves ducks under for a takedown. Staropoli fights him off. Body shot from Staropoli. Halfway through the final stanza. Leg kick from Alves. Body kick from Staropoli. Spinning back fist from Staropoli. Side elbow. Body-head. Alves with a nice left shovel hook. Staropoli responds. Body kick from Alves. Knees from Alves and Staropoli retreats. Alves pressing with a body kick. Staropoli with a left hook. Good action late! Big combo from Alves! 10-9 Alves, but 29-28 Staropoli. Laureano Staropoli defeated Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Irene Aldana vs. Bethe Correia Round 1 - Slow start. Low kick from Aldana gets caught. She’s jabbing from the outside. Correia hasn’t been able to find her range so far. Left from Aldana. Aldana with a counter right. Le kick from Correia, but Aldana counters. Aldana with a left. Body shot from Correia. Not a lot happening here. Correira wit ha right and she finally presses. Leg kick from Irene. Nice, hard right from Aldana. Correia with a right. Three rights over the top in a row from Aldana. 10-9 Aldana. Round 2 - Leg kick from Correia, as her corner asked for. Jab from Aldana. Body shot from Aldana. Correia connects with a right, her best punch of the fight. Another leg kick. Aldana with a counter right and a leg kick. Correia with another leg kick and an overhand right. Aldana responds with a right cross. Correia with a lead right hook, and a left. She’s found her range now for sure. Another one. Correia with a straight left. Left hook from Aldana. Correia tries to clinch and they battle in close. They trade again. Correia with a right that stuns Aldana. Another right over the top for Correia, and a leg kick.. Correia shoots late but gets nowhere. Aldana with a combo and a big uppercut. 10-9 Correia. Round 3 - Leg kicks from Correia. Aldana kicks back. Aldana with a ride that stuns Correia a bit. A second one lands. Correia counters. Left over the top for Correia. Correia with a counter right. Correia presses. Big combo! Aldana jabbing as Correia presses. Aldana with a body-head combo. Correia shoots but Aldana defends. Correia gives up her back and Aldana armbars her just like that! Whoa! Irene Aldana defeated Bethe Correia via submission (armbar), 3:24 of round 3<doc-sep>UFC 237 takes place Saturday night from Rio de Janeiro, featuring champion Rose Namajunas defending her strawweight title against Brazilian challenger Jessica Andrade on Andrade’s home turf. The co-feature pits all time legend Anderson Silva versus Jared Cannonier, while Jose Aldo battles Alexander Volkanovski in a pivotal showdown between top featherweight contenders. Talita Bernardo vs. Viviane Araujo Talita Bernardo is a submission grappler who picked up her first UFC victory last time out in the Octagon and is 6-3 in MMA competition overall. Viviane Araujo is the smaller woman naturally and is taking the fight on late notice. She is 6-1 over the course of her MMA career. Advertisement Round 1. Araujo’s striking looks crisp. She is bouncing around on the outside and landing strikes. Bernardo is clearly bigger but she is also the much slower competitor and Araujo is taking advantage of her speed to pepper Bernardo with jabs and kicks. Bernardo goes for a takedown late but can’t get it cleanly and opts to pull guard instead. Araujo quickly takes Bernardo’s back as the round comes to a close. One-sided action there. 10-9 Araujo. Round 2. Araujo opens up with some low kicks. Araujo cracks Bernardo with a hard right hand to the jaw, easily the biggest blow of the fight. Araujo follows with some more leg kicks. Bernardo answers back with a couple punches and shoots for a takedown but she doesn’t come close. Bernardo lands a few punches and Araujo responds by taking Bernardo down. Bernardo has full guard up against the cage. They return to the feet and Bernardo lands a few more quality punches at the end of the round. Bernardo finally seemed to get going a little big in the second half of that round. 10-9 Araujo. Round 3. Araujo comes out with a lot of movement. She lands a few solid punches and then knocks Bernardo out cold with a punch. Winner: Viviane Araujo, KO, round 3. That was a terrific UFC debut for Viviane Araujo. She was fighting in a higher weight class on short notice and dominated the fight before securing a clean knockout. She looks like she could be a force in the UFC. As for Bernardo, she may find herself on smaller shows next. Raoni Barcelos vs. Carlos Huachin Raoni Barcelos will be one of the biggest UFC betting favorites of the year when he takes on Carlos Huachin tonight. Barcelos is 13-1 with finishes in both his UFC bouts. He takes on the Peruvian Huachin, who is taking the fight on short notice. All 10 of Huachin’s wins have come via knockout or submission while all 3 of his losses have come via decision. Round 1. Barcelos moves forward early but Huachin is throwing more while backing up and he’s throwing hard. Barcelos is mostly defending well but Huachin is connecting here and there with heavy punches. Barcelos begins to throw more in the second half of the round but Huachin is landing the stronger shots. 10-9 Huachin. Advertisement Round 2. Barcelos drops Huachin early in the second round. Barcelos opens up with punches on the ground and has Huachin in big trouble. Huachin looks to isolate an arm while Barcelos keeps dropping down punches. Barcelos gets Huachin’s back but then gives that up and looks for a guillotine choke. He cannot get it and instead goes back to landing punches and elbows from the top. Barcelos gains full mount and lands some punches from there. The referee finally steps in. Winner: Raoni Barcelos, TKO, round 2. Huachin proved himself game early in the fight, but Barcelos worked his way through that danger and really took over on the ground late. Luana Carolina vs. Priscila Cachoeira Advertisement Carolina won a fight on the Dana White Contender Series and now she will fight on a major UFC show for the first time. She is 5-1 for her career. Priscila Cachoeira is more experienced at 8-2 but both of those losses were in her last two fights in the UFC so she needs to rebound here. Round 1. Cachoeira lands a big right hand early. Carolina clinches and lands a few knees to the body. They trade hooks back and forth. Cachoeira is the fighter moving forward with Carolina backs away and circles. Carolina lands a couple of standing elbows. They begin swinging wildly back and forth with some unusual technique. Carolina lands a head kick. Cachoeira lands a hard overhand right. Carolina is badly bleeding but it is underneath her eye rather than above it. 10-9 Cachoeira. Round 2. Cachoeira continues to pursue, with Carolina looking to either counter or tie Cachoeira up. Carolina drops Cachoeira with a massive head kick. Carolina looks for an armbar from a weird angle but loses it. Cachoeira stands up and eats an illegal knee as she is returning to her feet. Carolina lands a series of kicks on the feet and then grabs a guillotine choke. Carolina uses the threat of the submission to take full mount. Carolina looks for an inverted triangle but Cachoeira pops out. They trade big punches at the close of the round. 10-8 Carolina. Round 3. Carolina isn’t backing up nearly as much in the third and she is throwing repeated head kicks after having success with that earlier. Carolina lands a backfist and Cachoeira answers back with a couple of heavy straight punches. Carolina looks for a guillotine choke but then gives it up, perhaps not wanting to use up the remaining energy in her arms. Cachoeira continues to throw to the end even as she is clearly very tired. 10-9 Carolina, 29-27 Carolina. Advertisement Winner, Luana Carolina, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27). That was a fun, hard fought fight. Both fighters showed some vulnerabilities that could be exploited but they exhibited heart and solid offensive tools. Clay Guida vs. B.J. Penn Fan favorite Clay Guida is known for his wild hair and he has secured 14 wins in the UFC since debuting in 2006. B.J. Penn is the former UFC lightweight and welterweight champion but he has lost six straight and not looked good in the process. The decision to keep him on this card has been a controversial one after the mother of his children accused him of physical and sexual abuse. Advertisement Round 1. The fighters are mostly boxing in the early going. Penn looks better than he has in recent fights. Guida is missing with a bunch of his wild looping punches. Neither man is connecting with anything too substantial but Penn has some of the crispest shots of the round. 10-9 Penn. Round 2. The second round begins much like the first. Penn is landing more in a boxing match where the pace is quick enough but neither is doing much damage. The live crowd is sporadically booing and heckling the fight. Guida lands a head kick late, a few additional punches, and takes Penn down. 10-9 Guida. Round 3. Guida backs Penn up with punches. He is beating Penn up, mixing in kicks, and Penn looks exhausted. They end up in a clinch, which allows Penn time to recover. Guida’s punches, which Penn was avoiding early on, are now consistently connecting to the chin. 10-9 Guida, 29-28 Guida. Winner: Clay Guida, unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27). Advertisement That was sad to watch on a variety of levels. Warlley Alves vs. Sergio Moraes Warlley Alves was thought to be an elite prospect after winning the Ultimate Fighter Brazil 3 and he remains the only fighter to defeat Colby Covington but his stock has fallen badly with 3 losses in his last 5 fights. Sergio Moraes has quietly accumulated an impressive 8-3-1 UFC record with 6 of those wins coming in Brazil. Round 1. Alves is the aggressor early, throwing plenty of kicks. Moraes finally lands a massive overhand right but as he comes in, Alves nails him with a couple of vicious low kicks. Moraes lands a pair of punches but has his momentum halted when he takes an eye poke moving in. Alves lands a lunging punch in an exchange. 10-9 Alves. Advertisement Round 2. Moraes has slowed after repeated attacks to the leg in the first round. Moraes does land a solid left hand. Alves is cautious with his striking in spite of the advantage he has gained, throwing not all that often and forcing Moraes to move forward. 10-9 Alves. Round 3. The action is faster at the start of the third. Moraes lands a big hook and Alves answers back as they exchange wild looping punches. Alves comes in with a flying knee that doesn’t connect but then throws another of his hard leg kicks. Moraes clutches his leg after a particularly brutal leg kick in the middle of the round. Alves goes for another flying knee. This time it connects better and then Alves floors Moraes with an uppercut for the finish. Winner: Warlley Alves, KO, round 3. That was a classic example of a fighter attacking the leg and then using that damage to open up attacks to the head. This was a big win for Alves as he looks to regain the stature he once had. Advertisement Thiago Moises vs. Kurt Holobaugh Thiago Moises has accrued an 11-3 record at age 24 and has been fighting mainly in the United States despite his Brazilian heritage. Kurt Holobaugh is 0-3 thus far in the UFC but is getting another opportunity to establish a name for himself on the major league level of the sport. Round 1. Moises lands some nice punches at Holobaugh moves in, but Holobaugh is able to get in for the clinch. Holobaugh can’t secure a takedown and backs away. Moises then gets a takedown of his own. Moises lands punches from the top while Holobaugh isn’t able to stand up or threaten with submissions. 10-9 Moises. Round 2. Moises lands a strong right hand right at the start of the round and Holobaugh fires back. They end up in a clinch and Moises scores another takedown. Holobaugh is able to work back to his feet this time. Holobaugh attacks the body with some stiff punches. Moises responds with a few elbow attempts but they don’t connect the same way. Holobaugh really pours it on at the end of the round and does just enough to steal the round. 10-9 Holobaugh. Advertisement Round 3. Moises staggers Holobaugh with a right hand near the ear and then knocks him down with a leg kick. Moises takes top position and is in half guard. Holobaugh gets up but he can’t get Moises down and Moises scores another takedown on Holobaugh. As Holobaugh stands up, Moises takes his neck and squeezes, but Moises doesn’t have his hooks in and he isn’t able to get the submission. Holobaugh finally secures top position. Moises gets up and slams Holobaugh down. Moises lands some elbows at the close of the round. 10-8 Moises, 29-27 Moises. Winner: Thiago Moises, unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27). Moises looked like he might be fading in the second round but he firmly regained control in the third to pick up the decision. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Spann Advertisement An elite fighter for a decade and a half, the now 42-year-old Nogueira is looking for a win at home here. Ryan Spann is 15 years younger than Nogueira and has won 5 straight fights. Round 1. Spann gets a takedown early. He looks for an arm triangle choke but does not secure it and returns to his feet. Spann drops Nogueira with punches and knocks him out on the ground. Winner: Ryan Spann, KO, round 1. Fighting isn’t a pursuit that’s well suited for people in their 40s, as we saw again there. Advertisement Irene Aldana vs. Bethe Correia Irene Aldana is a Mexican fighter who has spent most of her career competing in Invicta and UFC. Bethe Correia once fought Ronda Rousey in a massive pay-per-view title attraction but she has won only once since, hasn’t fought in nearly two years and missed weight for this fight by five pounds. Round 1. Aldana takes a caution approach, keeping her hands high and relying almost exclusively on straight punches when Correia comes in.<doc-sep>
Join us today on Bloody Elbow for live results, discussion, round scoring, and play-by-play as UFC 237 goes down in Rio. The main event will see Rose Namajunas attempting to defend her women’s strawweight title for the second time when she meets rugged Brazilian challenger Jessica Andrade. The main card will also feature Brazilian stars like Anderson Silva, who meets Jared Cannonier; and Jose Aldo, who faces off with Alexander Volkanovski. The featured prelim comes in the light heavyweight division, with veteran Antonio Rogerio Nogueira meeting Ryan Spann. This post will cover the preliminary card. The show kicks off on Fight Pass at approximately 6:30pm ET with three fights. The card then moves to ESPN at 8pm ET for four more bouts, then onto the main PPV card. Remember that you can only order UFC PPVs now through ESPN+, so you have to sign up for that service beforehand if you haven’t already. The full lineup and schedule follows. The main card will be covered in a separate post. Check out this week’s MMA Vivisection for predictions, analysis and betting odds on the each matchup. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Spann Round 1 - Spann with an inside leg kick. They trade in close. Nogueira basically pulls guard. Spann goes straight to mount and has an arm triangle. Nog defends and Spann gives it up. They get back up. Spann with a hard right. Spann has a takedown attempt stuffed and he eats a left. Spann with a huge left uppercut and Nog goes down. One more hammerfist and it’s over. Ryan Spann defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via KO (strikes), 2:07 of round 1 Thiago Moises vs. Kurt Holobaugh Round 1 - They’re getting at it immediately. Moises was touching him up from range, so Holobaugh closes the distance. Holobaugh looks for a takedown. Moises fought it off. Hoobaugh with a combo but Moises covers up. Moises with a nice right. Holobaugh goes to the body. Moises with an elbow on a clinch break. Moises chains some wrestling together and gets a takedown. Moises working well from half. Holobaugh regains full guard. Elbow from Moises. 10-9 Moises. Round 2 - Moises with a hard right. Another. Holobaugh fires back. Holobaugh clinches. They jockey for position. Moises with a beautiful double-leg takedown. Holobaugh fights his way back to his feet halfway through the round. Holobaugh wants some grappling of his own but he’s not being very successful so far. Body work from Holobaugh. Moises with an elbow. The crowd isn’t digging it. Knees from Holobaugh. Moises shoots but Holobaugh defends. They exchanges combinations. Low kick from Moises. Body work from Holobaugh again. They brawl to the horn. 10-9 Moises. Round 3 - Hard shot from Moises. He lands behind the ear. The next shot put Holobaugh down! Moises is trying to pass his guarnd but isn’t getting much of anywhere. Holobaugh rolls over, gets up, and almost powers Moises to the mat. Moises gets another takedown halfway through the round. Holobaugh back up again. Moises steps over and sinks a choke but he doesn’t have body control. Holobaugh escapes. Elbows from Moises but Holobaugh is holding onto his body. Moises reverses, scoops Holobaugh up, and slams him. Elbows and punches from Moises. He’s closeing hard. 10-9 and 30-27 Moises. Thiago Moises defeated Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) Warlley Alves vs. Sergio Moraes Round 1 - Alves with a few low kicks. Moraes isn’t liking them, but he checked one finally. Alves with a left. Uppercut. Another hard leg kick. Moraes with his patented winging right hook. He charges in with some punches. Alves with a combo and another kick. Moraes misses with the right hook but got eye poked. Quick restart. Jump knee misses but a long right follow-up lands for Alves. 10-9 Alves. Round 2 - Alves with an immediate leg kick. Alves lands a looping right hook. Mores with his own. Alves scores up the middle. Oblique kick from Alves. Another leg kick. Alves lands to the body. Another chopping leg kick. Moraes checks a kick again. Not enough, apparently. Guess what? Another leg kick. Body kick now. Body punch. Short uppercut from Moraes. 10-9 Alves. Round 3 - Moraes’ leg is jacked up. He’s trying to pressure early. They both land big punches. Alves with a low kick. Body shot. Jump knee and a right from Alves. Chopping kick to the other leg. Nice right hook from Alves, and an uppercut.