UFC 237 is coming to you from beautiful Rio De Janeiro, Brazil this weekend and it looks to be a fun card. I am not going to sit here and lie to you and say this is a must buy or anything, but if you do buy it, it will be a good time. Strawweight championship is on the line in the main event, and as always the UFC has matched up many Brazilians against people from around the world. The crowd will be alive so here is my preview of the three main fights this Saturday.

Jose Aldo vs. Alexander Volkanovski

So this matchup feels like the UFC is pitting a young up and comer against a wily veteran, but that is not the case here. Alexander Volkanovski while relatively new to the game is 30 years old, while Aldo the Legend is only 32. I will say though Aldo definitely has more miles on his body, but he obviously holds the experience edge as well. Volkanovski has a lot of power, and has steamrolled through the featherweight division looking for a title shot. He is going to come forward and that seems to be what Aldo wants to do. Aldo is a great counter puncher and still has a ton of power as well. I just seem him having too much experience and finishing Volkanovski in the second round.

Jared Cannonier vs. Anderson Silva

Any time Anderson Silva fights, people tune in now matter how old he is. He made it through a fight with Israel Adesanya and saw a decision last time so people got excited to see him again. He might not be so lucky this time as he runs into Jared Cannonier across the Octagon. Cannonier has fought at Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and now is campaigning at Middleweight. He looked phenomenal in his MW debut against David branch and will likely get a top five fight if he beats Silva. I think Cannonier will be too much for the aging Silva and will Knock him out in the first.

Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade

This will be the first time Champion Rose Namajunas fights with the belt on the line and she is not staring across from Joanna Jedrzejczyk (yes I looked it up). However, looking across at Jessica Andrade cannot be fun either. Andrade is a beast with power in her hands and great wrestling, she can also just overpower anyone she fights with her massive heart. Andrade fought for the belt against Joanna and lost but everyone complimented her will to win, and since then she has been on a tear.

After Rose beat Joanna twice she has taken some deserved time off, but she has an extremely well rounded game and makes this fight really hard to pick. Jessica’s key to victory is simple, out work Rose and try and finish her. Rose needs to employ the Jon Jones game plan of Jabs and Leg kicks so she can keep the distance, pile up rounds, and maybe get a submission late if Jessica is tired.

I see Rose doing just that and going into enemy territory to defend her belt. Rose by unanimous decision.

As always I hope everyone enjoys this card, and appreciates that we get extremely high level MMA almost every weekend.

*My pound for pound list can be found here.