UFC 237 Live Round By Round Updates: Your Ticket To The Show

UFC 237 Live Round By Round Updates

Getty A UFC sign is seen on Copacabana beach to promote the UFC 237.

With a mix of exciting young prospects and legendary veterans of the sport, UFC 237 in Rio should be an incredibly exciting card. You can follow along live with the main card by purchasing the PPV through ESPN Plus but if for any reason you can’t watch the fights, check back here for live round by round updates and results across the entire main card.

Despite the main card being set to kick off at 10:00 pm ET, there are a number of fights worth watching on both the prelims and early prelims. Most notably, UFC icons B.J. Penn and Clay Guida meet up in a fight that was seemingly ripped from the UFC 69 card in 2007. While this fight may have been a bit more action-packed when both fighters were in their prime over a decade ago, it should be fun to watch the two aging UFC cornerstones finally do battle.

Keep it here for live results, updates and analysis. Want to watch the fight live? You can order it here through ESPN+.


Main Event: Jessica Andrade def. Rose Namajunas via 2nd Round KO

Rose Namajunas Main Event

GettyRose Namajunas takes down Michelle Waterson during their Women’s Strawweight bout.

Round 2

The second round picks up where the first one left off with tons of action early on. Andrade is pressuring a bit better early on but Rose is still landing at a decent clip. Andrade definitely landing more early in the round but Rose’s jabs are unrelenting. Andrade is starting to go to the body more and is having success, she desperately needs to slow Rose down. Andrade lands a nice knee and gets Rose up against the cage and slams rose again, essentially putting the champ out before landing some ground and pound before the ref mercifully calls the fight.

Round 1

Rose comes out light on her feet sticking and moving while Andrade presses forward throwing heavy punches to start. Rose has already drawn blood on Andrade with some crisp shots, doing incredible work with her jab barely a minute in. Rose’s hands look incredible, so Andrade picks her up and slams Rose twice, the second time nearly getting caught in a Namajunas armbar. Rose then presses for the takedown but Andrade gets up quickly. Through the first half of the round, this has been an unbelievably exciting fight. Namajunas’ striking looks next level and is absolutely picking Andrade apart on the feet with heavy, quick shots. Namajunas cracks Andrade with a big knee and puts Andrade down and assumes top control, raining down shots before Andrade escapes in a scramble. An incredible first round, Rose clearly the winner but Andrade starts landing a bit more at the end of the round to make things a bit more interesting.

Round: 10-9 Namajunas
Fight: 10-9 Namajunas


Preview: Our main event of the evening features strawweight champion Rose Namajunas taking on challenger Jessica Andrade. Namajunas took the belt from arguably the most dominant women’s champion the UFC has ever seen in Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Not only did she take the belt from Jedrzejczyk but defended it in impressive fashion in the immediate rematch. With two convincing wins over one of the sport’s best fighters, Namajunas now turns to face the rest of the division, starting with the incredibly strong Jessica Andrade.


UFC 237 airs May 11 on ESPN+. You can order it here.

Main Card: Jared Cannonier def. Anderson Silva via First Round TKO

Anderson Silva Main Event

GettyUFC Middleweight fighter Anderson Silva poses for photographers during the UFC Media Day.

Round 1

Cannonier comes out early and takes the middle of the octagon, pressuring Silva and testing his ability to get inside on the longer fighter. Silva is working to stay at an arm’s length and counter Cannonier’s attempts to push inside early. Silva rips a big body kick two minutes in and the crowd goes absolutely nuts, clearly, the Brazilian legend has even heavier crowd support than the other fan-favorites tonight. Silva is slowly taking control of the round and using his distance well before Cannonier backs him into the corner and does some big damage to Silva as the two break. Silva eats a cannonier leg kick to the knee and immediately goes down with an apparent knee injury and the fight is immediately stopped by referee Herb Dean.


Preview: Former pound-for-pound king Anderson Silva takes on Jared Cannonier in the co-main event of the evening. Coming off of a loss to future middleweight (interim) champion, Israel Adesanya, Silva is far from the unbeatable champion he was in his prime but still a very dangerous fighter. Jared Cannonier makes his second fight at middleweight, where he looked far more explosive than at either heavyweight or light heavyweight. Expect an exciting stand-up battle between these two warriors.


Main Card: Alexander Volkanovski def. Jose Aldo via Unanimous Decision

Jose Aldo Main Card

GettyUFC Featherweight Jose Aldo relaxes during training session.

Round 3

Aldo comes out relatively passive for a man who should likely know he is down on the scorecards. Volkanovski goes back to the lead leg and is setting up nice overhand followups to his leg kicks. Volkanovski gets Aldo back on the fence and starts going back to work with his knees. The two men break after about a minute and head back to the middle of the octagon. Aldo seems to be content sitting back and hunting for a one-punch knockout as he really hasn’t opened up his hands much through the first half of the round. With two minutes to go, Volkanovski once again gets Aldo up against the cage and just leans on him, throwing small knees and punches to keep the position. Volkanovski starts throwing some powerful knees to the thighs of Aldo in the final minute and Aldo is simply unable to get the stronger Volkanovski off him.

Round: 10-9 Volkanovski
Fight: 30-27 Volkanovski

Round 2

Volkanovski comes out the aggressor again and is landing the better shots in the first minute of the round. Aldo is whipping some dangerous punches but isn’t really getting too close to landing on Volkanovski. Volkanovski is continuing to chop down Aldo’s front leg but has yet to see major dividends in terms of slowing Aldo down. The referee stops the fight for an eye poke but Aldo quickly assures the doctor he’s more than good to go. Aldo comes back out a new man and lands a very solid combo on Volkanovski. Volkanovski pressure Aldo back up against the cage and throws an incredible amount of hard knees to the thigh of Aldo. Aldo slips out and reverses the position briefly before Volkanovski gets him back on the cage and continues throwing his knees. Aldo gets off the cage in the final seconds and the two take the center of the octagon and throw a bit heading into the buzzer.

Round: 10-9 Volkanovski
Fight: 20-18 Volkanovski

Round 1

Aldo takes the center of the Octagon early and the two men start off relatively calm, trying to get a read on one another’s timing. Neither man has really landed or thrown much of anything at all through two minutes, though Volkanovski has been the more “active” fighter for what it is worth. The two start to both open up a little more as we turn into the second half of the round with Aldo landing a solid body shot and Volkanovski working the lead leg. Aldo tags Vokanovski with a counter right and Volkanovski immediately starts applying pressure before getting Aldo up against the cage. The two men trade some nice shots down the stretch and land through the buzzer.

Round: 10-9 Volkanovski
Fight: 10-9 Volkanovski


Preview: The former dominant featherweight king, Jose Aldo, takes on up and coming prospect Alexander Volkanovski in what will likely amount to a title eliminator. Aldo has stated his desire to hang up the gloves in 2019 and a win over Volkanovski would put him in line for a title shot before the end of the calendar year. For Volkanovski, he is unbeaten in the UFC and with another high profile win over Aldo, would be nearly impossible to deny for a shot at the belt. There are some pretty sizeable implications for the entire featherweight division riding on this fight.


Main Card: Laureano Staropoli def. Thiago Alves via Unanimous Decision

Thiago Alves Main Card

GettyThiago Alves waits for the start of his welterweight fight against Jordan Mein during UFC 183.

Round 3

Both fighters come out aggressive and although Alves chucks a big knee, Staropoli eats and lands huge shots of his own. Alves secures a takedown on Staropoli but the two get back to the feet quickly. Staropoli continues to throw heavy shots at Alves, who has slowed down a bit. Staropoli is starting to inflict some heavy damage to the body, landing big punches and kicks repeatedly. Alves goes for another takedown and presses Staropoli against the cage, who flips Alves around before breaking off and heading back to the center of the octagon. Staropoli continues to throw and land solid shots on Alves, who looks to be slowed by the bodywork of Staropoli. Alves is responding occasionally but seems to be hunting for the finish as the round winds down. Alves lands a huge knee and hook combination with 30 seconds to go and Staropoli starts backing up. Alves is pressuring Staropoli hard at the end of the round but slips near the bell and kills his momentum. Another incredibly close round between the two warriors.

Round: 10-9 Alves
Fight: 29-28 Staropoli

Round 2

Alves comes out a bit more aggressive and seems to be applying a bit better pressure early in the second round. Neither fighter has landed much in the early going of the round but both are consistently throwing. Alves slips backward and Staropoli pounces, working some ground and pound against Alves on the cage. Alves gets back up and the two resume fighting on the feet. Both men are landing a bit as we head towards the end of the round but Staropoli looks to be getting the slight upper hand in most exchanges. Thiago really opens his hands up as the final minute starts but Staropoli weathers the storm and responds with a nice combo of his own. An extremely close round to call but we’ll go with Staropoli based on the damage inflicted on the ground and against the cage.

Round: 10-9 Staropoli
Fight: 20-18 Staropli

Round 1

Alves and Staropoli start relatively slow and take a cool minute to feel one another out. Staropoli is the more active of the two fighters early on with Alves hesitant to open up and engage. Staropoli is starting to open up a bit more around the halfway point in the first round and a few of his shots are finding a home. Alves hasn’t thrown much at all as we head into the final minute, seemingly trying to get a read and find an opening on the younger, flashy fighter. Alves finally finds an opening and lands a clean shot at the buzzer but it isn’t enough to steal the round.

Round: 10-9 Staropoli
Fight: 10-9 Staropoli


Preview: Longtime UFC veteran, Thiago Alves, takes on relative newcomer, Laureano Staropoli, in a fight that should produce some fireworks. Both fighters like to stand and trade and despite Alves not having the same explosive power and athleticism that once made him so dangerous, he still hits like a truck. Staropoli is an exciting and athletic striker who lacks one-punch knockout power but makes up for it with his swarming barrage of punches that put opponents down.


Main Card: Irene Aldana def. Bethe Correia via 3rd Round Submission

Bethe Correia Main Card

GettyBethe Correia of Brazil steps onto the scale during the UFC 190 weigh-in.

Round 3

Correia once again takes the center of the Octagon and the two are trading punches as the first minute of the fight is relatively even. Aldana starts to find a home repeatedly for her straight right and left punches, working them early in the round. Correia responds with a massive shot about halfway through the round but Aldana keeps her composure. Correia is landing by far the bigger shots in both the fight and the round and seems to be picking up some momentum on the feet. Correia shoots for a takedown and gets stuffed. Aldana immediately transitions into a slick belly-down armbar and forces Correia to tap, ending the fight.

Round 2

Correia comes out once again and takes the center of the octagon and looks to be applying a bit more pressure on Aldana in the early going of the round. Aldana is still landing but Correia is finally doing some damage back. Correia lands a few big shots towards the middle of the round and has clearly found her distance against the taller fighter. Correia is walking through small punches from Aldana and starting to rack up some damage, eventually hurting Aldana badly with around a minute left. Correia lands another big overhand right in the final seconds of the round before Aldana finally responds with some big shots at the buzzer.

Round: 10-9 Correia
Fight: 19-19 Tie

Round 1

Correia quickly assumes the middle of the octagon as Aldana circles and the two feel one another out. Nothing much of substance happens early on as the two throw shots that aren’t really close to landing their mark. Aldana is clearly trying to establish the jab while Correia is trying to back Aldana down and do work inside. Aldana is starting to land the jab and finding a home for some leg kicks as the round hits the halfway mark. Correia looks hesitant to force her way inside and is getting picked apart. Correia lands a few shots towards the end of the round but it isn’t remotely enough to win back the round as Aldana lands some big shots near the bell.

Round: 10-9 Aldana
Fight: 10-9 Aldana


Preview: Bumped up onto the main card on short notice, Irene Aldana and Bethe Correia meet for a fairly important fight in the women’s bantamweight division. With Aldana ranked 11th and Correia 13th, this fight serves as a springboard for one of the fighters to jump back up in the top 10 and make a push at the belt. Correia actually got a shot at the belt once before against Ronda Rousey as a 9-0 prospect but was taken out in the first round and hasn’t looked the same since.


UFC 237 Prelims Results

Ryan Spann def. Antônio Rogério Nogueira via First Round KO
Thiago Moises def. Kurt Holobaugh via Unanimous Decision
Warlley Alves def. Sérgio Moraes via 3rd Round KO
Clay Guida def. B.J. Penn via Unanimous Decision


UFC 237 Eary Prelims Results

Luana Carolina def. Priscila Cachoeira via Unanimous Decision
Raoni Barcelos def. Carlos Huachin via 2nd Round TKO
Viviane Araujo def. Talita Bernardo via 3rd Round KO


UFC 237 airs tonight on ESPN+. You can order it here.