UFC 237 takes place May 11 at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and numerous new bouts for this card have been revealed in the past week. We already knew the main event is a women’s UFC strawweight title fight between champion Rose Namajunas and challenger Jessica Andrade, but now we know some of the undercard bouts as well. They are listed below, along with my initial thoughts.
Anderson Silva vs. Jared Cannonier, UFC 237
An intriguing middleweight bout sees Anderson Silva take on Jared Cannonier. ESPN broke the news. Silva (34-9, 1 NC) is 17-5, 1 NC in the UFC and in his last fight lost a hard-fought decision to No. 1 contender Israel Adesanya. Cannonier (11-4) is 4-4 in the UFC and in his middleweight debut scored an upset KO win over David Branch. As good as Cannonier looked at 185lbs and as bad as Silva has looked in the last five years, I still think Silva can win this fight. I’m expecting a close fight here, and if for whatever reason Silva is an underdog I would seriously consider taking a shot on him.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Ryan Spann, UFC 237
Light heavyweights Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ryan Spann are set to clash. Combate revealed the news. Nogueira (23-8) is 6-5 in the UFC and in his last fight upset Sam Alvey via KO. Spann (15-5) is on a five-fight win streak including a decision win over Luis Henrique in his UFC debut. Despite Rogerio’s win over Alvey, I still think he’s fade material due to being 42-years old, and I would have to favor Spann to win this fight just based on him 27-years old.
Bethe Correia vs. Irene Aldana, UFC 237
A women’s bantamweight bout will see Bethe Correia take on Irene Aldana. Combate broke the news. Correia (10-3-1) is 4-3-1 in the UFC but hasn’t fought since a brutal head kick KO loss to Holly Holm in June 2017. Aldana (9-4) is 2-2 in the UFC and has won back-to-back decisions over Lucie Pudilova and Talita Bernardo heading into this match. Correia needs to be faded coming off of a long layoff, especially against a technical striker like Aldana. I’m hoping for a close line here due to Correia’s popularity, but I think Aldana by decision is the most-likely result of this bout.
Jessica-Rose Clark vs. Talita Bernardo, UFC 237
Women’s flyweights Jessica-Rose Clark and Talita Bernardo will meet at this event. Combate broke the news. Clark (9-5, 1 NC) is 2-1 in the UFC but dropped a decision to Jessica Eye in her last bout. Bernardo (6-3) is 1-2 in the UFC and is coming off of a decision win over Sarah Moras. This should be a competitive bout but Clark is the more proven and experienced fighter and should be slightly favored here.
Wu Yanan vs. Luana Carolina, UFC 237
And finally, flyweights Wu Yanan and Luana Carolina will clash. Agfight had the news. Yana (10-2) is 1-1 in the UFC including a decision win over Lauren Mueller in her last outing. Carolina (5-1) hasn’t lost since her pro debut in 2015, and earned a UFC contract with a win on the Brazilian Contender Series. Both fighters are lacking in experience, but Carolina is the Brazilian fighting on her home turf here and I’d assume she’d be a decent-sized favorite at open.
