Which Ranked Fighters Are Competing This Weekend? UFC 237 Rankings Tracker
OFFICIAL!
— UFC (@ufc) May 10, 2019
https://t.co/BhFW7JTYtW #UFC237 pic.twitter.com/3KfgExQo6M
Advertisement
UFC 237 takes place this weekend at the Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro. A number of ranked fighters are competing on the card, so let’s take a look at them and the possible implications their fights could have on the rankings.
Headlining the event is a women’s strawweight tilt between current
champion Rose
Namajunas and Jessica
Andrade. Namajunas (8-3) shocked the world when she knocked out
longtime queen Joanna
Jedrzejczyk to become the champion in 2017. She would prove the
result wasn’t a fluke by outpointing the former champion in a
rematch last year.
As a result, she is high up on the pound-for-pound lists. Both Sherdog and ESPN rate “Thug” as the fourth-best female pound-for-pound fighter in the world. On the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s pound-for-pound rankings, meanwhile, Namajunas is No. 14.
Her opponent in Andrade (19-6) is also a highly-ranked contender on the pound-for-pound lists. With six wins in her last seven fights, Sherdog and ESPN rate the Brazilian as the sixth-best female fighter in the world as well as the third-best 115-pounder. As per the UFC rankings, she is also the No. 1-ranked strawweight in the promotion.
A win over Andrade could see Namajunas rise up the pound-for-pound ranks further. Meanwhile, a victory for the challenger could see her not only climb the pound-for-pound ranks but become champion in the UFC for the first time.
In the co-main event, former middleweight king Anderson Silva looks to get back to winning ways against Jared Cannonier. Silva (34-9, 1 NC) was most recently outpointed by Israel Adesanya at UFC 234, but is hoping to deliver a huge win in front of his home fans. “The Spider” has only fought once since February 2017, but his recent outing against Adesanya currently sees him ranked No. 14 in the UFC middleweight rankings. A win over Cannonier could see him return to the Top 10.
That’s because Cannonier (11-4) is ranked No. 10 following his impressive knockout win of David Branch at UFC 230 last year. Fighting at 185 pounds seems to suit “The Killa Gorilla,” who is also rated as the ninth-best middleweight in the world according to Sherdog. A decisive win over Silva would not only be the biggest of his career but could see him climb up the ranks further.
Former featherweight king Jose Aldo is also in action when he takes on Alexander Volkanovski. Aldo (28-4) is fresh off two consecutive TKO wins over Jeremy Stephens and Renato Carneiro, but a third consecutive win is unlikely to give him another title shot. Despite his two losses to current champion Max Holloway, the Brazilian is still rated highly though. Sherdog rates him as the second-best featherweight in the world, ESPN rates him third, while the UFC rankings have him as the No. 1 contender.
It is no surprise then that Volkanovski (19-1) has a lot to gain with a win. “The Great” is fresh off a knockout win over Chad Mendes and will look to add another name to his resume. The Aussie is rated as the fifth-best featherweight in the world by Sherdog, sixth by ESPN, and is the No. 4 contender in the UFC rankings. A win over Aldo would see him rise up the ranks and almost certainly guarantee him a shot at Holloway next.
Finally, Bethe Correia returns to action as she competes against Irene Aldana in a women’s bantamweight bout. Correia (10-3-1) last competed in the summer of 2017 when she was knocked out by Holly Holm. However, the former title challenger is still ranked No. 13 in the UFC rankings and will be looking to return with a win against Aldana (9-4), who is currently No. 11.
Related Articles
