When Rose Namajunas steps into the cage on Saturday, May 11, to defend the UFC Strawweight Championship at UFC 237, she’ll be doing something that has rarely been seen before.
In somewhat of a throwback to when Ronda Rousey defended her bantamweight title against Bethe Correia in Brazil at UFC 190, Namajunas will be competing for the first time outside the United States when she takes on Jessica Andrade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Brazil is considered to be hostile territory for any international mixed martial artist who is competing against a Brazilian in the UFC and UFC 237 will likely be no different for Namajunas and the others competing that evening.
Namajunas will enter UFC 237 on a three-fight winning streak that has been topped off with brilliant back-to-back wins against Joanna Jedrzecjzyk. After beating Jedrzejczyk to claim the strawweight title on November 4, 2017, Namajunas then defended the title in an immediate rematch with the former champion at UFC 223 in April 2018.
This time, she’ll be defending her title against the incredibly tough and determined former title challenger, Jessica Andrade. Like Namajunas, Andrade will enter UFC 237 after winning all three of her last bouts. Andrade managed unanimous decision victories against Claudia Gadelha and Tecia Torres before then stopping Karolina Kowalkiewicz in the first-round of UFC 228 in September.
Right now, the bookmakers have Jessica Andrade as the betting favorite (-125) ahead of UFC 237, with Rose Namajunas stepping in as a slight underdog (+105).
Andrade’s brawler-like style has proved to be problematic for many in the UFC before, and that combined with her great strength and relentless pressure has clearly many fans predicting that she’ll walk away with the title at UFC 237.
View the betting odds for Rose Namajunas vs. Jessica Andrade and the complete UFC 237 card below.
UFC 237 Odds
Main Card (ESPN+ at 10:00 PM EST)
- Rose Namajunas (+105) vs. Jéssica Andrade (-125)
- Jared Cannonier (-150) vs. Anderson Silva (+130)
- José Aldo (-140) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (+120)
- Thiago Alves (-105) vs. Laureano Staropoli (-115)
- Francisco Trinaldo (+145) vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira (-165)
Preliminary Card (ESPN at 8:00 PM EST)
- Antônio Rogério Nogueira (+125) vs. Ryan Spann (-145)
- Thiago Moises (-140) vs. Kurt Holobaugh (+120)
- Irene Aldana (-280) vs. Bethe Correia (+240)
- B.J. Penn (+450) vs. Clay Guida (-600)
Early Preliminary Card (ESPN+ at 5:15 PM EST)
- Luana Carolina (-165) vs. Priscila Cachoeira (+145)
- Warlley Alves (-145) vs. Sérgio Moraes (+125)
- Talita Bernardo (-475) vs. Melissa Gatto (+380)
