Michael Bisping describes how Jessica Andrade was able to win the women's strawweight title from Rose Namajunas. For more UFC action, sign up for ESPN+ http://plus.espn.com/ufc. (2:13) Saturday's UFC 237 card in Rio de Janeiro did not go well for the country of Brazil -- until the championship main event. Brazilian strawweight Jessica Andrade (20-6) claimed UFC's 115-pound title with a stunning knockout of Rose Namajunas at 2 minutes, 58 seconds of the second round. The finish came when Andrade lifted Namajunas (9-4) into the air and slammed her on the back of her head. The bout was quickly waved off. Namajunas recovered and exited the cage unassisted. Andrade, 27, scored just the fourth slam knockout in a title fight in UFC history and the first since Matt Hughes' dramatic slam of Carlos Newton at UFC 34. It was a massive victory for Andrade, who was fighting in her native country. Earlier in the night, the Brazilian crowd watched several of its legends lose, including Anderson Silva, Jose Aldo and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Silva's defeat was particularly demoralizing, as he suffered a knee injury in the opening round. "I was certain of what I had to do in the second round," Andrade said. "I never did that move before in the UFC, the pile driver. That's what I do. It's my nickname." Namajunas spoke to reporters at the postfight news conference, and her manager, Brian Butler, said she would not be transported to the hospital. "She is clear-headed and being very gracious about the loss," he said. After the loss, Namajunas expressed uncertainty about her future in MMA, saying, "Going into this one, I was like, 'This might be the last time I ever do this.' But we'll see. We'll take it one day at a time." Asked if she meant she was contemplating retirement, Namajunas said, "I don't know. We'll see. I'm not gonna make no decisions right now. It's just hard to keep having fun with this."<doc-sep>Jessica Andrade is the new women's strawweight champion after knocking out Rose Namajunas at UFC 237. (Getty Images) Rose Namajunas dominated Jessica Andrade in the first round of their strawweight world title UFC 237 main event Saturday in Brazil with elusive footwork and precise punching. In the second round, however, Andrade pressed forward, undeterred, and scored a dramatic come-from-behind victory. Wading in through Rose’s sharp punches, the Brazilian pressed Namajunas against the cage fence before lifting her up into the air as the American held onto a double wrist lock, and then slamming “Thug Rose” onto the back of her head. The impact knocked the defending champion out on contact. Referee Marc Goddard astutely recognized that Namajunas was limp and leapt into the fray, stopping it at 2:58 of the second round. The win improves Andrade’s record to 20-6, as Namajunas’ mark dips to 8-4. After the first round, UFC color commentator and heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier said from cageside that Namajunas may very well be better than ever. Indeed, the 26-year-old looked too quick, sharp and skilled for Andrade up until nearly the moment the bout ended. Namajunas used deft lateral footwork from the start, as well as feints and long, snapping jabs with jarring right cross punches immediately following. For her part, Andrade rushed in aggressively, attempting to close the distance on her taller opponent, but only to get touched up with counter punches and be left with a serious cut around her left eye just a minute in to the bout. Namajunas countered Andrade’s multiple early leg kick attempts with counter punches before landing a thudding hook-cross punch combination that snapped the challenger’s head back. Story continues Relentless, even in the face of dominant offense, Andrade charged in once more, scoring a takedown. Namajunas secured a double wrist lock as she was being taken down, however, and was able to seamlessly threaten with a shoulder lock once things hit the mat. With Namajunas still attached to her own arm, Andrade got to her feet and scored another slam, only to have Namajunas skillfully transition to a straight armlock attempt off of her back. Andrade escaped the hold, stood up and gained separation from the dangerous submission artist. Once back up on her own two feet, and perhaps sensing vulnerability to submission holds on the mat, Namajunas shot in and hit her own double leg takedown, though Andrade quickly got back up. Namajunas next connected with a check left hook to the head, before using the Thai plum clinch to score a knee strike that caused Andrade to stumble backward, and then fall to the floor. Namajunas once again lunged in to finish, attempting strikes and guard passes before Andrade worked up and escaped a front headlock. Andrade ended the first round with destabilizing leg kicks, a right hand to the head, and then by working for another takedown against the fence. Andrade picked up her low kick offensive at the start of the second round, as Namajunas landed more jabs and check left hooks. Andrade, still bleeding and absorbing more punishment than she could yet deliver, nonetheless marched forward with looping punches as Namajunas countered with her own crisp shots and circled away from danger. Soon, however, Namajunas began to back straight up, mouth open, hands down, as Andrade charged in over and again. Left hooks to the body and head from Andrade began to clip Namajunas, who briefly landed a hip toss before Andrade popped back up. Andrade’s leg kicks began shifting lower, to the calf of the champion, before she moved in for a final time, effectively closing the distance and pressing Namajunas against the cage. From there, Namajunas once again grabbed the far-side double wrist lock which had helped her in the first round when Andrade worked for slams against the cage. This time, however, the insistence on maintaining the hold appeared to place Namajunas in a dangerous spot as Andrade stepped in, got her hips underneath those of Namajunas and lifted the champ high into the head before turning her so that the champ’s head went over her legs, and then spiked her onto the ground with authority. After suddenly losing her strawweight UFC world title, Saturday in Rio, Rose Namajunas admitted to feeling as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. (Getty Images) Namajunas went out, Andrade landed a couple punches for good measure and a new Queen at 115 pounds was suddenly crowned. The PRVT team member handed her new championship belt to her coach, afterward, crediting him for all he’d contributed to her life and career, before describing her mentality heading into the second period. “I was certain in what I had to do in the second round,” Andrade explained. “I knew she was slowing down and I wanted to knock her out.” Once she had regained consciousness, Namajunas herself got on the microphone, humbly thanking the Brazilian fans, and revealing a possible positive to losing her hard-earned title. “It’s just a huge pressure off my shoulders,” she said, smiling. More from Yahoo Sports:<doc-sep>Despite getting outclassed on her feet through nearly two full rounds, Jessica Andrade coerced the UFC women's strawweight title through sheer strength and force. Andrade (20-6) picked up reigning 115-pound champion Rose Namajunas and slammed her on top of her head and neck in Round 2 to bring a violent end to their UFC 237 main event bout at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro via second-round knockout. Referee Marc Goddard instantly waved off the fight at 2:58 of the second round after Namajunas (8-4) was knocked out cold from the impact. "I was very certain in what I had to do in that second round," Andrade said. "I never threw that move, I never piledrived anyone in the UFC. That's my nickname and I wanted to do that. I knew she was slowing down." 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. Namajunas, who entered the fight on a 13-month layoff due to injury following a pair of exciting title wins over Joanna Jedrzejczyk (who defeated Andrade in 2017), put forth a blistering first round that acted like a highlight reel of her incredible evolution as a striker. Entering with advantages of three inches in both height and reach, Namajunas landed stiff jabs to open a cut above Andrade's left eye and put forth a clinic on footwork and changing angles to offset Andrade's pressure. Andrade, 26, a former bantamweight who has reinvented herself as a knockout puncher at 115 pounds, was willing to take the damage throughout in order to get close enough and twice got her hands on Namajunas in the opening round for slam attempts that were thwarted by the champion securing Kimura attempts while in midair to minimize the impact of the landing. In Round 2, Andrade continued with her relentless pressure and began to catch Namajunas in comprising situations as she backed up in straight lines with her hands down. Eventually she got close enough for a third slam attempt that saw Namajunas' commitment to try and hook a kimura leave her neck exposed to the slam. "It's just a huge pressure off my shoulders," Namajunas cryptically said after the fight. Namajunas had made a curious decision earlier in the year to pass up a chance to defend her title in March against Andrade in Las Vegas. Instead, she insisted that the two fight in Andrade's home country of Brazil and explained that making the fight as difficult as possible would help bring out the best in her. For one round, it appeared as if Namajunas' bet was paying off. But Andrade's toughness and rugged determination to stalk forward without ceasing helped her stay in the fight, just as she did in her title loss to Jedrzejczyk two years ago when she landed hard punches late in the fight despite being down on the scorecards. While it was Andrade's stamina and pressure that allowed her to get close enough to Namajunas to deliver the finishing blow, it was her impressive strength that won her the title in a finish that was even more alarming than Andrade's one-punch knockout of Karolina Kowalkiewicz last September. Andrade now owns the most wins in UFC history by any female fighter with 11. "I'm very happy but this is really his belt," an emotional Andrade said as she handed the belt to her coach, Gillard Parana. "If he hadn't put the gym together 10 years ago, I wouldn't be here." CBS Sports was with you for every punch, kick and submission attempt from Brazil with our live blog below. If you are having trouble viewing the blog, please click here. UFC 237 card/results Jessica Andrade (c) def. Rose Namajunas via second-round TKO (slam and punches) Jared Cannonier def. Anderson Silva via first-round TKO (injury) Alexander Volkanovski def. Jose Aldo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Laureano Staropoli def. Thiago Alves via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Irene Aldana def. Bethe Correia via third-round submission (armbar) Ryan Spann def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira via first-round TKO (punches) Thiago Moises def. Kurt Holobaugh via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) Warlley Alves def. Sergio Moraes via third-round TKO (punches) Clay Guida def. B.J. Penn via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27) UFC 237 updates, highlights Thanks for stopping by.<doc-sep>
Jessica Andrade lived up to her nickname as the ‘piledriver’ with a brutal slam that knocked out Rose Namajunas as she becomes the new UFC strawweight champion. Following a rough night for Brazilian legends, Andrade — known as ‘Bate Estraca’, which translates to ‘piledriver’ — gave the Rio de Janeiro crowd something to cheer about with her comeback victory as she claims the 115-pound title in a jaw-dropping performance to cap off UFC 237. Andrade didn’t have many highlight reel moments during the fight but she only needed one to end Namajunas’ night to claim her first UFC championship. A year off didn’t seem to affect Namajunas whatsoever in the early going as she was fast out of the gate with a precision striking attack that immediately starting giving Andrade headaches. Striking from a distance, Namajunas was just peppering Andrade with her punches while constantly targeting the same spot on her face. Less than a minute into the fight, Andrade had a cut near her eye thanks to the constant barrage of shots she was eating from the former ‘Ultimate Fighter’ finalist. Namajunas’ footwork as also giving Andrade problems as she was hitting and moving before the aggressive Brazilian could really mount any kind of offense. https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1127430739094528000 Andrade did manage to bull rush forward to get into the clinch but Namajunas latched onto an arm in a kimura attempt and even after being slammed to the ground, she was still hunting for the submission. Andrade escaped but even in her most dominant position on top, Namajunas was the one threatening for the finish. As it turns out that slam was a harbinger of the end for Namajunas one round later. Before that happened, Namajunas was in complete control even landing a knockdown late in the first round after she connected with a knee to Andrade’s head that put her on the canvas for a moment. As the second round got started it was more of the same from Namajunas with rapid fire combinations that kept Andrade on the end of her punches. While most fighters would be frustrated by this point in the fight, Andrade just continued with her relentless attacks until she finally pushed forward and got inside to look for another takedown. Story continues Much like the first slam in the opening round, Andrade secured her grip around Namajunas’ leg and hoisted her into the air with hardly any effort. Namajunas again looked for the kimura but this time her decision to hold onto the arm ended in disaster as Andrade brought her crashing back down to Earth with her head meeting the canvas in a violent collision. Andrade continued the assault but the referee quickly rushed into rescue Namajunas, who was already knocked out from the slam. https://twitter.com/ufc/status/1127431854045319168 The end came at 2:58 into the second round as Andrade celebrated her championship victory. “I was very certain what I had to do in that second round,” Andrade said following the win. “I never threw that move, I never pile-drived in the UFC, that’s my nickname, I’m very happy to be able to do that. I knew she was slowing down and I wanted to knock her out.” It was a dramatic ending for Andrade after she was struggling to deal with Namajunas’ striking throughout the first seven minutes in the fight. All that mattered in the end was her ability to land that one huge slam that put Namajunas down and out. “It’s just a huge pressure off my shoulders,” Namajunas said after losing the strawweight title. Based on that statement it’s tough to say if Namajunas will call for an immediate rematch after winning the majority of the fight before she suffered the slam knockout. As for Andrade, she becomes champion in her second attempt and now she has a ton of options in terms of what comes next. Michelle Waterson has been on a great win streak lately and there’s an upcoming fight between Tatiana Suarez and Nina Ansaroff at UFC 238 that will most likely crown the most worthy No. 1 contender in the division unless Namajunas pushes for the rematch.