The official media conference was held for UFC 237, which takes place May 11 in Jeunesse Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The main event of the card was formally declared to be UFC women’s strawweight champion vs. Jessica Andrade, with a set of co-main events featuring Jared Cannonier vs. Anderson Silva at middleweight and Alexander Volkanovski vs. Jose Aldo in featherweight. (Instead, Aldo stated he may be forced to pull out with injury, and Renato Moicano was rumored as a replacement.) A few new supporting fights 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 was booked 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 series right now. This includes a choice win over Rustam Khabilov in his final fight that pushed him closer to the top-15 at 155lbs. Trinaldo (23-6) is 13-5 overall in the UFC and is coming from a vicious TKO victory over Evan Dunham that hauled him into retirement. Although Trinaldo is 40, he’s proven time and time again he is one of the best lightweights in the world, and he’s the ideal opponent to test in which Ferreira is at right now. That being said, I believe you have to favor Ferreira here provided his recent win series, and also the opening line for this bout will be interesting to see.
Said Nurmagomedov vs. Raoni Barcelos, UFC 237
Bantamweights Said Nurmagomedov and Raoni Barcelos will fulfill at UFC 237. Gracie Mag broke the information. Nurmagomedov (13-1) is currently 2-0 in the UFC and is riding a seven-fight win streak overall including a knockout win over Ricardo Ramos in his final 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 fight, which appears even better following his recent victory over Ryan MacDonald. Both of these guys are promising young fighters and this really is a wonderful battle. I would expect something near a Select ‘em line here, with possibly a small lean to Barcelos due to battling in Brazil.
UFC 237 vs. Sergio Moraes, warlley Alves An exciting welterweight bout between Warlley Alves and Sergio Moraes can also be place for UFC 237. Alberto Mina was initially rumored as Alves’ competition, but Moraes finally ended up getting the fight. Alves (12-3) is 6-2 in the UFC and is coming off of a surprising TKO loss to James Krause. He simply hasn’t lived up to the hype after his win on TUF Brazil 3 and is probably in a must-win situation . Moraes (14-4-1) is 8-3-1 complete in the UFC and recently had a two-fight win streak snapped by a decision loss to Anthony Rocco Martin. The two Alves and Moraes are solid boxers with holes in their own game, but given the youth benefit for Alves I would expect him to be a small favorite here.
Kurt Holobaugh vs. Thiago Moises, UFC 237
And finally, featherweights Kurt Holobaugh and Thiago Moises will fulfill at this function. Holobaugh (17-6, 1 NC) has an overall record of 0-3 in the UFC, and is coming from consecutive stoppage declines to Shane Burgos and Raoni Barcelos. Moises (11-3) was ruled at the grappling section by Beneil Dariush in his UFC debut, which snapped a two-fight win streak. Both these men are gifted yet flawed fighters, and bettors can expect a Select’em kind of line for this bout, with possibly a slight edge to Moises.
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