UFC 237: How To Watch Namajunas vs. Andrade Online PC
On Saturday, UFC women’s strawweight champion Rose Namajunas travels to Brazil to put her title on the line against No. 1 contender Jessica Andrade in the main event of UFC 237. The fight, which marks Namajunas’ return to the octagon after a 13-month absence, takes place at Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Namajunas returns to the octagon for the first time since she successfully defended her title against Joanna Jedrzejczyk in the co-headlining bout of UFC 223, which took place on April 7, 2018. Namajunas won that bout by decision. The contest was a rematch of their UFC 217 matchup, which Namajunas won via first-round knockout. Namajunas claimed the title with her win in that November 4, 2017 bout and also handed Jedrzejczyk the first loss of her career.
For Andrade, this is her second bid at the women’s 115-pound crown. She fell short in her first attempt to win the belt when she dropped a decision to Jedrzejczyk in May 2017. Andrade, who hails from Brazil, has won three straight fights since that setback. Her most recent triumph, which earned her the shot at the title, was a first-round knockout win over Karolina Kowalkiewicz in September.
Namajunas, who has never fought outside of the United States is taking a significant risk in traveling to Andrade’s home country of Brazil for this fight. The Brazilian crowds are famous for their vocal support of their local fighters and have at times been openly hostile to the opponents of those fighters. The fact that Namajunas would accept the challenge of fighting in a hostile environment shows fans that she welcomes the thought of challenging herself. If Namajunas can successfully defend her title against the hard-hitting and powerful Andrade in Brazil, she could usurp Jedrzejczyk as the most dominant fighter to compete in the women’s strawweight division.
