The official media conference was recently held for UFC 237, which takes place May 11 in Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main event of this card has been formally announced to be UFC women’s strawweight champion vs. Jessica Andrade, using a set of co-main events including Jared Cannonier vs. Anderson Silva at middleweight and Alexander Volkanovski vs. Jose Aldo in featherweight. (As an aside, Aldo stated he may be forced to pull out with trauma, and Renato Moicano was rumored as a replacement.) A couple new supporting struggles were added into the card, and my first thoughts on these are below.
Carlos Diego Ferreira vs. Francisco Trinaldo, UFC 237
An intriguing lightweight bout between Carlos Diego Ferreira and Francisco Trinaldo has been reserved for UFC 237. MMAFighting.com broke the news. Ferreira (15-2) is 6-2 overall at the UFC and is riding an impressive four-fight win streak right now. This includes a choice win over Rustam Khabilov in his last fight that pushed him nearer to the top-15 in 155lbs. Trinaldo (23-6) is 13-5 overall in the UFC and is coming from a vicious TKO victory over Evan Dunham that knocked him to retirement. Though Trinaldo is 40, he’s proven time and time again he’s one of the best lightweights in the world, and he is the perfect opponent to check where Ferreira is at right now. That being said, I think you have to prefer Ferreira here given his current win streak, and the opening line for this particular bout will be interesting to see.
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos, UFC 237
Bantamweights Said Nurmagomedov and Raoni Barcelos will fulfill UFC 237. Gracie Mag broke the news. Nurmagomedov (13-1) is 2-0 at the UFC and is riding a seven-fight win streak overall including a knockout win over Ricardo Ramos in his last bout. Barcelos (13-1) is really on a six-fight win streak and is 2-0 at the UFC as well with a submission win over Chris Gutierrez in his final struggle, which looks even better following his latest victory over Ryan MacDonald. Both these guys are promising young fighters also this is a great fight. I’d expect something close to a Select ‘em line here, with possibly a small lean to Barcelos because of fighting in Brazil.
UFC 237 vs. Sergio Moraes, warlley Alves An exciting welterweight bout between Warlley Alves and Sergio Moraes is also place for UFC 237. Alberto Mina was initially rumored as Alves’ competition, but Moraes ultimately ended up obtaining the fight. Alves (12-3) is 6-2 at the UFC and is coming off of a sudden TKO loss to James Krause. He simply hasn’t lived up to the hype following his triumph on TUF Brazil 3 and is likely in a must-win situation here. Moraes (14-4-1) is 8-3-1 overall from the UFC and lately had a two-fight win streak snapped by a decision loss to Anthony Rocco Martin. Both Alves and Moraes are solid fighters with holes in their game, but given the childhood benefit for Alves I would expect him to be a tiny favorite here.
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Thiago Moises, UFC 237
And finally, featherweights Kurt Holobaugh and Thiago Moises will meet at this function. Holobaugh (17-6, 1 NC) has an overall record of 0-3 from the UFC, and is coming from successive stoppage declines to Shane Burgos and Raoni Barcelos. Moises (11-3) was dominated at the grappling department by Beneil Dariush in his UFC debut, which snapped a two-fight win streak. Both these guys are talented yet flawed fighters, and bettors can anticipate a Select’em type of line for this bout, with possibly a slight edge to Moises.
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