This article is part of our UFC Picks series.
Update: The scheduled matchup between Francisco Trinaldo and Diego Ferreira has been removed from the card after Ferreira withdrew due to medical issues. As a result, we will remove that fight and proceed with four selections this week.
Rose Namajunas once again finds herself as an underdog in her upcoming title defense, despite solidifying her claim to the belt with a second victory over long-time champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk a year ago. Joining this matchup on Saturday's pay-per-view is a pair of Brazilian legends in Anderson Silva and Jose Aldo, potentially setting the stage for future superfights and title bouts, respectively.
As a reminder, these are purely picks. If you're looking for a fantasy-specific breakdown of these fights on DraftKings, click here for Jon Litterine's UFC 237 Preview, or tune into Fight IQ live Friday at 8:00 p.m. EST on the RotoWire Youtube Channel.
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JON | EVAN | JAKE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Namajunas (+100) vs. Jessica Andrade (-120) | Women's Strawweight | Andrade | Andrade | |
| Jared Cannonier (-155) vs. Anderson Silva (+135) | Middleweight | Cannonier | Cannonier | |
| Jose Aldo (-140) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (+120) | Featherweight | Volanovski | Volkanovski | |
Thiago Alves (-115) vs. Laureano Staropoli (-105) | Welterweight | Staropoli | Staropoli | |
| UFC 237 RECORD | 3-1 | 2-2 | 3-1 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 11-7 | 9-9 | 9-9 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .611 | .500 | .500 | |
| ALL-TIME (since UFC 200) | 106-69 | 95-80 | 107-68 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .606 | .543 | .611 |
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | RICHARD | CHRIS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Namajunas (+100) vs. Jessica Andrade (-120) | Women's Strawweight | Andrade | |
| Jared Cannonier (-155) vs. Anderson Silva (+135) | Middleweight | ||
| Jose Aldo (-140) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (+120) | Featherweight | ||
Thiago Alves (-115) vs. Laureano Staropoli (-105) | Welterweight | ||
| UFC 236 RECORD | 0-4 | 1-3 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 7-11 | 7-11 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .389 | .389 | |
| ALL-TIME (since UFC 204/210) | 83-63 | 58-57 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .568 | .504 |
| MATCHUP | WEIGHT CLASS | JOE "SUNTZU" | SHAUN "TheDFSniper" |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rose Namajunas (+100) vs. Jessica Andrade (-120) | Women's Strawweight | Andrade | Andrade |
| Jared Cannonier (-155) vs. Anderson Silva (+135) | Middleweight | Cannonier | |
| Jose Aldo (-140) vs. Alexander Volkanovski (+120) | Featherweight | Volkanovski | Volkanovski |
Thiago Alves (-115) vs. Laureano Staropoli (-105) | Welterweight | ||
| UFC 236 RECORD | 3-1 | 2-2 | |
| 2019 RECORD | 11-7 | 11-7 | |
| 2019 PERCENTAGE | .611 | .611 | |
| ALL-TIME (since UFC 223) | 38-26 | 41-23 | |
| ALL-TIME PERCENTAGE | .594 | .641 |
THE PLAYERS
Jon Litterine: RotoWire lead MMA beat writer and scribe for our weekly DrafKings preview. Lead analyst on the RotoWire MMA Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JonLitterine.
Evan Dahl: Pens our MMA Barometer column and contributes on fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealEvanDahl.
Jake Letarski: RotoWire.com Operations Manager, plus MMA and NCAA Hoops Senior Editor. Host of the RotoWire MMA Podcast and guest on the RotoWire Fantasy Football Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @JakeSki52.
Richard Mann: Richard is a stats-based analyst that has appeared on ESPN MMA via Fightmetric. He is the primary Bellator recap writer and handles event recaps in our Fight Stat Wrap column. Follow him on Twitter at @RichardAMann.
Chris Olson: Contributor at RotoWire to "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," as well as DFS Baseball, and MMA fight recaps. Follow him on Twitter at @RealChrisOlson.
Joe "SunTszu": Known more commonly by his Twitter handle @SunTszu, Joe is a Hedge Fund Executive by day and high-volume DFS player by night. He is a 2x "Bracket Challenge" & "Gotham qualifier, who is currently ranked 4th in DFS MMA. You can also find him as one of the original contributors of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He is also a co-creator of the "Creating Alpha in DFS" podcast.
@theDFSniper: @theDFSniper is the host and lead instigator of "Fight IQ, presented by RotoWire," a DFS-centric video breakdown. He also appears on the LoudMouth MMA podcast and contributes soccer content to DFS Army.
Disagree with these picks? Let your opinion be heard in the comments!
