UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Tito Wordsmith
- May 14
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 14
Introduction
UFC 237: Namajunas vs. Andrade — May 11, 2019, Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rose Namajunas arrived as the UFC Women’s Strawweight Champion, riding a run that had begun when she knocked out Joanna Jedrzejczyk at UFC 217 and continued with a successful title defence. In Rio, before a partisan Brazilian crowd, Jessica Andrade ended that run with one of the most violent and visually arresting finishes in women’s MMA history: after losing the opening round, she hoisted Rose off the canvas and slammed her down on her head, knocking her out cold. Referee Marc Goddard stopped the contest at 2:58 of round two. Andrade became the new champion — the first Brazilian to hold the strawweight title — and Rio erupted.
The card offered far more than the slam. In the co-main event, Jared Cannonier — in his middleweight debut — stopped the legendary Anderson Silva by first-round TKO when a low kick wrecked Silva’s knee. Earlier on the main card, a rising Alexander Volkanovski swept the scorecards against former champion and Brazilian icon José Aldo, a result that helped propel him toward a featherweight title shot. For the 2019 context see UFC 236.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: May 11, 2019
📍 Venue: Jeunesse Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
📺 Broadcast: Pay-Per-View (ESPN+); prelims on ESPN / ESPN+
🏆 Main Event: Namajunas (c) vs. Andrade — UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
✅ Result: Andrade def. Namajunas via KO (slam) — R2 2:58
🥇 Champion: Jessica Andrade — NEW Women’s SW Champion (first Brazilian to hold the strawweight title)
The Build-Up
Rose Namajunas had earned her status as one of the most respected champions in the UFC by the time she arrived in Rio. She ended Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s extraordinary reign at UFC 217 with a stunning first-round KO, then defended the belt with a unanimous-decision win over Joanna in the rematch at UFC 223. A 13-month layoff followed — Rose had openly wrestled with her relationship to the sport — and UFC 237 marked her return. Andrade was a powerful, aggressive brawler who had fought her way into contention on a four-fight winning streak built around brutal finishes. The two had never met before; the bout in Andrade’s home country, with a capacity crowd emphatically behind her, handed the challenger a real edge.
The rest of the main card carried weight, too. In the co-main, Jared Cannonier was moving up to middleweight to face Anderson Silva — a 44-year-old legend competing in his home country. And in a featherweight bout loaded with symbolism, the surging Alexander Volkanovski took on his boyhood idol, former champion José Aldo, with a likely title eliminator on the line. Both fights would shape the divisions around the main event.
Main Event — Namajunas vs. Andrade
Rose Namajunas (c) vs. Jessica Andrade — UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship
Rose controlled the first round, picking Andrade apart with clean technical striking, opening a cut over the challenger’s eye and even dropping her with a knee. Twice Andrade tried to slam her, and twice Rose threatened submissions in mid-air — a kimura and an armbar — to blunt the landings. But Andrade kept walking through the punishment with the durability that made her so dangerous. The decisive moment came in round two: Andrade clinched against the fence, hoisted Rose completely off the mat, and slammed her down on her head with full force. Rose was knocked out on impact; Andrade landed two follow-up strikes before Marc Goddard waved it off at 2:58 of round two.
The slam was immediately iconic — the kind of finish that reframes a fight in a single moment. Rose had been winning before it, and will forever be defined partly by the manner of this loss. Andrade’s celebration, surrounded by a sold-out Rio crowd, became one of Brazilian MMA’s great post-fight images, and the finish remains one of the most referenced moments in the history of the women’s strawweight division.
Co-Main Event — Cannonier vs. Silva
Jared Cannonier vs. Anderson Silva — Middleweight
In a poignant co-main event, Jared Cannonier made his middleweight debut against Anderson Silva — the greatest middleweight champion in UFC history — fighting in front of his home Brazilian crowd at 44. The two felt each other out early, Silva flashing glimpses of his trademark precision. Late in the opening round, Cannonier landed a hard low kick that buckled Silva’s left knee; the leg gave way, Silva crumpled to the canvas, and the bout was waved off at 4:47 of round one. It was ruled a TKO.
For Cannonier, it was a statement in a new division — the launch of a middleweight run that would carry him into title contention over the following years. For the 44-year-old Silva, it was a difficult night late in a legendary career, his knee giving out against a younger, heavier-hitting opponent. The Rio crowd, electric for the main event still to come, fell quiet as their hero was helped from the cage.
Full Results
Main Card
Andrade def. Namajunas — KO (slam) | R2 2:58 | Women’s SW Championship (Andrade NEW champion)
Cannonier def. Silva — TKO (leg kick) | R1 4:47 | MW
Volkanovski def. Aldo — Unanimous Decision (30-27 ×3) | R3 | FW
Staropoli def. T. Alves — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27) | R3 | WW
Aldana def. Correia — Submission (Armbar) | R3 3:24 | Women’s BW
Preliminary Card
Spann def. Nogueira — KO (Punch) | R1 2:07 | LHW
Moises def. Holobaugh — Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-26, 30-26) | R3 | LW
W. Alves def. Moraes — KO (Punch) | R3 4:13 | WW
Guida def. Penn — Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-27) | R3 | LW
Early Prelims
Carolina def. Cachoeira — Unanimous Decision (29-27, 30-26, 30-26) | R3 | Women’s FLW
Barcelos def. Huachin — TKO (Elbows) | R2 4:49 | BW
Araujo def. Bernardo — KO | R3 0:48 | Women’s BW
Bonuses & Awards
🏅 Fight of the Night ($50,000 each): Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade, for the title-changing main event.
⚡ Performance of the Night ($50,000 each): Jessica Andrade for the slam KO to win the title, and Warlley Alves for his third-round knockout of Sergio Moraes.
Records & Milestones
Jessica Andrade became the first Brazilian to hold the UFC Women’s Strawweight Championship and the fourth champion in the division’s history. Her head-first slam is one of the most replayed knockouts in women’s MMA. Rose Namajunas’ reign — a title win and a single successful defence, both over Joanna Jedrzejczyk — ended in one of the most shocking upsets of 2019. Elsewhere on the card, Alexander Volkanovski’s shutout of José Aldo positioned him as the clear featherweight title challenger, while Jared Cannonier’s first-round TKO of Anderson Silva launched a middleweight run that would carry him into title contention.
Legacy & Impact
The Andrade slam is one of the defining images of the women’s strawweight division’s history. In an era where title changes at 115 lbs had been rare and hard-earned, the manner of the finish — so sudden, so violent, so unexpected from a fighter who had been losing the fight — made it genuinely iconic. Andrade became champion through physical strength that no technical skill set had been able to neutralise, and the image of her celebrating in her home country belongs among the sport’s great championship moments.
Andrade’s reign proved brief: she lost the title in her first defence, stopped in just 42 seconds by Zhang Weili at UFC Fight Night Shenzhen in August 2019. Namajunas, after a long layoff, avenged the loss with a split-decision win over Andrade in a non-title rematch at UFC 251 in July 2020. Beyond the strawweight story, UFC 237 accelerated two major arcs — Volkanovski’s march to the featherweight crown and Cannonier’s rise at middleweight. For the surrounding 2019 schedule see UFC 236.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Andrade knock out Rose Namajunas at UFC 237?
Andrade clinched against the cage, hoisted Rose completely off the mat, and slammed her down on her head. Rose was knocked out on impact; Andrade added a couple of strikes before referee Marc Goddard stopped the fight at 2:58 of round two. Rose had clearly won the first round before the finish.
How many times had Rose Namajunas defended the Women’s SW title before UFC 237?
Once. She won the title at UFC 217 with a first-round KO of Joanna Jedrzejczyk, then defended it with a unanimous-decision win over Joanna in the rematch at UFC 223. A 13-month layoff followed before she lost the belt to Andrade in Rio.
What happened in the UFC 237 co-main event?
Jared Cannonier stopped UFC legend Anderson Silva by first-round TKO. A Cannonier low kick injured Silva’s knee, the leg buckled, and the fight was waved off at 4:47 of round one. It was Cannonier’s middleweight debut and the start of his climb toward title contention.
Did Jessica Andrade and Rose Namajunas ever fight again?
Yes — once. Rose got her revenge at UFC 251 in July 2020 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, winning a split decision over three rounds. It was a non-title bout, however: Andrade had already lost the strawweight belt to Zhang Weili in August 2019. The two have not met a third time.
Who received the UFC 237 post-fight bonuses?
Fight of the Night: Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade ($50,000 each). Performance of the Night: Jessica Andrade ($50,000) for the slam KO to win the title, and Warlley Alves ($50,000) for his third-round knockout of Sergio Moraes.
References
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