Jessica Andrade vs. Rose Namajunas
Rose Namajunas always looked to have a challenging strawweight title defense against the strong, powerfully built juggernaught that is Jessica Andrade at UFC 237, but in the early stages of the fight it look as if ‘Thug’ Rose had her number as she repeatedly tagged her with crisp punches from range.
However, with the home crowd in Rio cheering her on, the bloodied Andrade never stopped coming forward looking for a way to swing the fight in her favor, and mid-way through the second round her perseverance paid off.
Bullying her way into the clinch, Andrade was able to pick up Namajunas almost effortlessly, and as the crafty Namajunas looked to counter with an armbar, the Brazilian slammed her back down onto the mat, head and neck first, knocking her out in the process to become the new 115lb champion in stunning fashion.
Afterwards there was some debate as to whether the finish was illegal, leading to ‘Big’ John McCarthy explaining why it wasn’t.
“When Rose goes for the armbar she has a choice to either let go of the armbar or try and hold onto it and go for the ride that Andrade is going to put on her,” McCarthy tweeted. “There is no illegal slam when a submission is being attempted. It does not matter how she brings her down.”
