What really mattered at UFC 237 in Rio de Janeiro? Here’s a thing or five …
1. Note to self: Sometimes these nicknames also are a warning
Jessica Andrade was not winning a single second of that main event title fight. Not until she got close enough to scoop Rose Namajunas up and spike her on her head. And after that? Well, then the previous seven minutes didn’t mean much.
Andrade earned the nickname “Bate Estaca” – piledriver, in English – after getting disqualified from a jiu-jitsu tournament for using that illegal slam. It’s also technically illegal in MMA, but as longtime referee John McCarthy pointed out, in this instance Namajunas brought the spike on herself by refusing to let go of her grip on Andrade’s arm.
In other words, to borrow a phrase from another fighter, it’s Andrade’s job to throw Namajunas – how she lands is her business.
That one slam earned Andrade a title, but everything that came before it probably has other contenders salivating for their shot. We knew she was tough and we knew she was a powerhouse in close. Against Namajunas, that was enough. This time, anyway …
2. Could that really be the last we see of “Thug Rose”?
As she always does, Namajunas told us exactly what was on her mind after this fight, making no effort to hide her feelings or sculpt our opinions of her. That’s refreshing, especially in this sport, but it also makes you wonder how much of it was just the hurt of the present moment talking.
Right up until she got slammed into unconsciousness, Namajunas looked fantastic in this fight. She was faster, sharper, and all around better. She made one mistake in hanging onto that arm too long, and it cost her. Now, she said, she feels like doing something else with her life.
Namajunas is 26 and officially has just 12 pro fights to her credit (not counting exhibition and amateur bouts). If she wanted to stick around, she probably still has room to grow and improve, which is almost scary. But if she decided to dedicate her life to gardening and poetry I bet she’d be good at that too, and maybe even happier.
Of course, if you told be she’ll be back in six months to rematch Andrade, yeah, I’d believe that too. I’d probably also pick her to win.
3. So wait, why was that crowd booing Cannonier?
He handled it about as well as anyone could. After defeating Anderson Silva via an injury TKO, Jared Cannonier stood silently in the center of the octagon for what felt like forever, letting the crowd boo him almost as an act of mass therapy. The look on his face said, Yeah I get it. It also said, But I don’t feel I deserve it.
As bad an outcome as this was for Silva, who admitted that his knee was unstable even before Cannonier’s kick had him writhing in pain, it also wasn’t great for Cannonier. He was looking good in this fight. He might have been headed for a stoppage victory even before this. Now he gets treated like the bad guy who got away with one, all for doing his job as best he could.
4. A bad night for the aged and the formerly great
Silva’s knee injury. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira’s scary knockout loss. And, of course, the seventh straight loss for B.J. Penn.
All these fighters were the truth in their primes. Silva and Penn were two of the best to ever do it. “Minotauro” might have been the lesser known of the Nogueira brothers, but he still had a great career in a pioneer era. But nobody stays young and strong and beautiful forever. That’s just life. The fight game is crueler than most about reminding us of this fact.
They all have their own reasons for continuing on, even if most of us probably feel like we’d be perfectly fine with never seeing them fight again.
Of course, that comes from a mostly selfish place. We prefer our memories of these men and would rather they didn’t complicate them with this sad final act. We say we’re concerned for their health, but at least part of that is a desire to avoid the guilt that would come from seeing them wrecked and broken as a payment for all they gave to this sport and its fans.
Still, don’t they know they can’t fight forever? Don’t they realize that, no matter how great you are at this, there comes a point when you have to figure out how to live another kind of life?
If you’re still at it because you need the money, well, OK. Borderline tragic, but OK. If, however, it’s just an attempt to delay figuring out what’s next, then you ought to rethink it. That conversation with yourself can only be put off so long, and at great cost.
5. No doubt about it, Volkanovski is next
With a unanimous decision win over Jose Aldo here, Alexander Volkanovski becomes the only UFC fighter not named Max Holloway or Conor McGregor to accomplish that feat. It wasn’t easy, and maybe it wasn’t even as decisive as he would have liked, but it still means something.
That’s seven in a row in the UFC for Volkanovski. He hasn’t lost in six years – the only loss of his pro career. If that’s not a resume worthy of a title shot in the featherweight division, show me one that is. After Holloway’s unsuccessful bid at lightweight, the time is right to come back home and defend that belt. Just make sure you come prepared, because Volkanovski is a solid night of work for anyone right now.
For complete coverage of UFC 237, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
