UFC 237 - Rose Namajunas vs Jessica Andrade

[Alexandoy]

UFC strawweight champion Rose Namajunas will be staking her belt against feisty challenger Jessica Andrade. Remember that Andrade is like a tank that keeps on attacking regardless of the hits she ate from the opponent. Namajunas has won the belt from long time champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and had defeated the former champion again in their rematch. Namajunas has a fight record of 8-3 while Andrade has a record of 19-6. The fight is on May 12 in Jeunesse Arena, Brazil.

 

[Caguioa747]

If Rose finds the opportunity, she will take the back and loon for the choke - but I can't even remember seeing Andrade grapple from her back or belly down. It's an unknown to me. But can rose take Jessica down? J is so stocky, R tall and lanky, I have a hard time seeing a takedown in the open or from the clinch.

 

[Alexandoy]

I am torn between the 2 fighters because Namajunas may have the knockout punch as she had shown against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in their first fight where she knocked down the champion. But Andrade seems to be invulnerable if you would review her fight against the same opponent. Although Andrade lost to Jedrzejczyk and Namajunas won against Jedrzejczyk not once but twice, I’d still say that Andrade has a big fighting chance particularly with the durability factor.

 

[Alexandoy]

The fight was a tit-for-tat affair with the champion Namajunas getting good shots with her longer reach. But Andrade proved her strength by lifting the champion twice in the first round. In the second round, Andrade started to penetrate the defenses of Namajunas and it looked like the challenger is getting the upper hand. Another lift was not prevented by Namajunas and she was slammed head first. It was not a knockout but the referee stopped the onslaught of the challenger to protect the helpless champion on the mat. Welcome the new strawweight champion – Jessica Andrade.