Viviane Araujo connects with a powerful punch on Talita Bernardo in the 2nd round. For more UFC action, sign up for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc. (0:25) Jose Aldo had lost to only two men going back to 2005: Conor McGregor and Max Holloway. Now, you can add Alexander Volkanovski's name to that short, prestigious list. Volkanovski defeated Aldo by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) in Aldo's adopted hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday night on the UFC 237 main card. "The Great" then called for a title shot against the champion Holloway, one that will be hard to deny him considering his résumé. "I'm next in line, 100 percent," Volkanovski said. "I'm the only one who's undefeated in the top three now. I should be No. 1. Let's set it up." Volkanovski's volume was the difference against Aldo. He was busier in every round, landed more consistently, hit with combinations and controlled Aldo against the cage. Aldo, who seemed to not agree with the decision, was never able to get off his vaunted offense and do any significant damage over the course of the 15 minutes. Volkanovski (20-1) has never lost in the UFC in seven fights and his most recent defeat came in 2013. The Australia native is tied for second among UFC featherweight winning streaks at five with Arnold Allen and Zabit Magomedsharipov. Volkanovski, 30, is on a 17-fight winning streak overall. Aldo (28-5) had his two-fight winning streak snapped. This was the first decision loss for the Brazilian. Aldo, 32, has talked recently about retirement in the near future, but he is still regarded as one of the best featherweight fighters in MMA history. "Junior" is a former two-time UFC featherweight champion and went undefeated between 2006 and 2015, before falling by knockout to McGregor. Laureano Staropoli defeated Thiago Alves by decision at UFC 237 on Saturday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images A 'Star' is born in Staropoli Laureano Staropoli has a signature win in just his second UFC fight. The Argentina native, who trains in Brazil, defeated longtime veteran Thiago Alves by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) in a solid performance. Staropoli showed off some flashy, dynamic offense and kept Alves on his heels for most of the bout. Kicks to the body and legs were significant. Alves had his moments, including a big takedown in the second round. But Staropoli did the most damage in all three rounds. Staropoli (8-1) now has won seven straight bouts. He won his UFC debut over Hector Aldana by unanimous decision at UFC Buenos Aires last November. Staropoli, 26, looks like a key up-and-comer in the UFC's stacked welterweight division. Alves (23-14) now has lost three of four. The Brazilian was competing in his UFC-record 25th welterweight fight Saturday night. Alves, 35, is 2-5 in his past seven bouts. Irene Aldana, right, submitted Bethe Correia in the third round of their fight at UFC 237 in Brazil on Saturday. Buda Mendes/Zuffa LLC/Getty Images Aldana armbars Correia, picks up third straight win It was a weird finish to a back-and-forth fight. But Irene Aldana will certainly take it. With Bethe Correia seemingly gaining momentum in the third round, Aldana reversed a Correia takedown attempt, took her back and snagged a belly-down armbar. Correia had her arm bent awkwardly and tapped out at 3:24 of the third. Correia clearly had her arm tweaked in an unconventional way -- she wouldn't let the referee touch it while the result was read afterward. Aldana (10-4) has now won three in a row in the UFC after starting her run at 0-2. This is her third career submission victory. Aldana, a 31-year-old Mexico native, is tied for third among the longest winning streaks in the women's bantamweight division with Germaine de Randamie. Only champion Amanda Nunes (seven) and Ketlen Vieira (four) have more. Correia (10-4-1) missed weight by 5 pounds Friday at weigh-ins. The Brazil native, a former bantamweight title challenger, was coming off a layoff of 11 months. Correia, 35, has not won since 2016. Ryan Spann defeated Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by first-round knockout Two years ago, Spann didn't want to ever fight again after losing in 15 seconds on Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series. On Saturday night, the Texas resident took out a legend. Spann knocked out Nogueira at 2:07 of the first round, stopping "Lil' Nog" in his home country of Brazil in a fight that Spann and his Fortis MMA team sought. Spann's power and speed were too much for the 42-year-old Nogueira. A right cross-left uppercut combination from Spann finished off the veteran. Spann (16-5) now has won six in a row, five of which have come by finish. The 27-year-old Texas resident is looking like a prospect to watch in the light heavyweight division. Nogueira (23-9) has lost two of three, and three of his past four losses have come via knockout. Thiago Moises defeated Kurt Holobaugh by unanimous decision Moises picked up his first career UFC win in dominant fashion in his home country. The Brazilian beat Holobaugh in a complete effort by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27), gaining the edge in both striking and grappling. Moises (12-3), just 24 years old, is regarded as a prospect coming off Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series. Holobaugh (17-7) has lost three straight and is winless in four straight bouts. Warlley Alves defeated Sergio Moraes by third-round knockout For two-plus rounds, Alves chopped away at Moraes' lead leg. With that appendage completely tenderized in the third, Alves went in for the kill. Alves smashed Moraes' leg with a kick, came in with a jumping knee and then landed a massive uppercut that put his Brazilian countryman down for good at the 4:13 mark of the third round. The 28-year-old Alves (13-3), who has won three of four, outlanded Moraes 72-20, including 26 leg strikes in a dominant performance. Moraes (14-5-1) is on a two-fight losing skid at age 36. Clay Guida defeats BJ Penn by unanimous decision Penn got off to a good start, making many believe that perhaps we could be seeing the Penn of old. In fact, it just ended up being an old Penn. Guida picked up the unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27) after dropping the first round, using his pressure and clinch game to suffocate any hope of a Penn surprise victory. Penn, 40, seemed gassed at the end of the second round and Guida's leg kicks really added up in the second and third. Guida rocked Penn several times with big overhand rights in the third. Guida (34-18), at age 37, has won three of his past four fights since returning to lightweight. Penn (16-14-2), one of the most decorated and popular fighters of all time, has dropped seven straight, a UFC record. Penn, a former UFC champion at lightweight and welterweight, has not won since beating fellow Hall of Famer Matt Hughes in 2010. Luana Carolina defeated Priscila Cachoeira by unanimous decision Cachoeira has a knack for durability and survival. But not for winning fights in the UFC at this point. Carolina won a complete performance by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27) to emerge victorious in her promotional debut. In the second round of what was a sloppy yet entertaining brawl, Carolina dropped her Brazilian countrywoman with a head kick and nearly finished with an inverted triangle choke, but Cachoeira held on. The 25-year-old Carolina (6-1), who earned this spot by winning last year on White's Tuesday Night Contender Series, has won six straight. The 30-year-old Cachoeira (8-3) has lost all three of her UFC fights after starting her career 8-0. Raoni Barcelos defeated Carlos Huachin Quiroz by second-round TKO Barcelos played Huachin's game in the first round, standing and boxing. When things got to the ground in the second, after Barcelos dropped Huachin with a right hand, it was complete domination. Barcelos, the biggest betting favorite of the year in the UFC (-1100), nearly snared a ninja choke and then minutes later finished via TKO at 4:49. Barcelos (14-1), a Brazil native, has won seven straight, and all three of his UFC wins have come via finish.<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments 'The King of Rio' was in action early on Sunday morning in the main event of UFC 237 at the Jeunesse Arena. The 32-year-old locked horns with the in-form Alexander Volkanovski, who entered the contest fresh off an emphatic stoppage win over Chad Mendes. It wasn't the former two-time featherweight champion's night, though, as he suffered a unanimous decision loss to the Aussie. During the post-fight interviews, UFC interviewing John Anik hailed Volkanovski for his latest triumph and lauded Aldo as 'one of the greatest featherweights of all time'.<doc-sep>It wasn’t a great night for Jose Aldo at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian featherweight came into the event with a lot of momentum, having knocked out his last two tough opponents. But on Saturday night he seemed a bit tentative, and that was all it took for pro rugby player turned fighter Alexander Volkanovski to run away with the fight, outworking Aldo for a 30-27 decision. It wasn’t a particularly bad loss. Aldo didn’t take any real damage and looked dangerous when he did fire off. He just couldn’t match Volkanovski’s pace. That didn’t stop longtime Aldo rival Conor McGregor from getting on Twitter and being a real dick about it, though. Take a look at the since-deleted tweet: McGregor is getting pretty Jon Jones-esque in his tweet deleting. We wouldn’t want to take attention away from all the endless Proper 12 whiskey promotion, after all. Even his positive social media comments regarding UFC 237 were deleted. Here’s what he wrote in response to a Dillon Danis tweeting that BJ Penn should retire (something we firmly agree with, by the way): But most of the stuff McGregor deletes is pretty trashy. There was that post about all the ‘dirty smelly rats’ competing at UFC 242 in Abu Dhabi. And then there was this gem that he tweeted and deleted about Max Holloway that Max just caught and threw back in Conor’s face: I'll leave this right here. Don't delete your tweets my bratha. I can take it #keepthatsameenergy pic.twitter.com/jaKHyJI08T — Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) May 12, 2019 What do you think, Maniacs? Does someone need to snatch Conor McGregor’s phone away and smash it?<doc-sep>
With the kind of wins that red-hot Alexander Volkanovski continues to put forth, it's going to be hard for UFC brass to keep him away from a featherweight title shot. Five months after he retired former title challenger Chad Mendes via TKO, Volkanovski took it one step further on Saturday with a clear unanimous decision win over Brazilian legend and longtime champion Jose Aldo at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro. Not only did Volkanovski (19-1) limit Aldo's output and consistently beat him to the punch throughout, he reeled off an impressive 17th consecutive win and improved to 7-0 since making his UFC debut in 2016. "I wanted to land punches which is why I was standing and trading for some time," Volkanovski said. "Aldo, nothing but respect and you are a legend. Thank you for that." Can't get enough UFC? Subscribe to my podcast State of Combat with Brian Campbell where we break down everything you need to know in the Octagon. Despite being showered in boos over the final two rounds by the partisan crowd for pinning Aldo against the cage and controlling from the clinch, Volkanovski was never seemingly not in control of the fight. The native of Australia hit Aldo with a taste of his own medicine early in Round 1 by landing a series of hard leg kicks that set a tone. Despite eating the occasional jab from Aldo in return, Volkanovski controlled distance well enough to keep himself out of trouble. The frustrated Aldo (28-5), who looked for a huge counter shot throughout that never came, failed to step on the gas at any point in an attempt to rally. The 32-year-old raised his arms after the final horn and appeared to believe he won. Aldo has one fight left on his UFC contract and has spoken publicly about wanting to exit the sport on his own terms this calendar year with one more bout in his home country. Volkanovski, meanwhile, called for a title shot against Max Holloway after the win. "Hey, I'm next in line 100 percent," Volkanovski said. "I'm the only one who is undefeated in the top three right now. Let's set it up. I wouldn't mind being on the card in Australia. That's a cracker of a fight, let's make it happen. "I told you all I was going to bring the win. I wish it was a knockout but what are you going to do?" For complete results from UFC 237, click here.