UFC 235 - Jon Jones vs Anthony Smith

This weekend, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heads to the fight capital of the world, The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas for UFC 235. UFC will look to put UFC 234 behind it and begin the month of March with a pair of title fights in Light Heavyweight Division and Welterweight Division. Jon Jones and Tyron Woodley will both defend their titles against Anthony Smith and Kamaru Usman in the main event and co-main event respectively in Las Vegas.

Light Heavyweight Title Bout (Main Event) – Jon Jones vs Anthony Smith

Following a third-round finish against Alexander Gustafsson in December, Jon Jones will return to defend his Light Heavyweight title against upstart contender Anthony Smith at UFC 235.

Fighters Profile

Jon Jones

A little more than two months after his most recent bout, UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones makes a quick turnaround at UFC 235 for the first title defence in his new reign. Jon "Bones" Jones is the most dominant 205-pound champion in UFC history with blistering performances against a long list of former champions and top contenders. He defeated six fighters who once held an undisputed UFC belt, the most by any active fighter in the organization. His 15-fight unbeaten streak in UFC competition is the second longest in company history behind Anderson Silva (16).

To defend his belt this time, Jones will have to go through a knockout striker in Anthony Smith, who turned the Light Heavyweight division on its head with three straight finishes since arriving in this weight class last year.

Anthony Smith

Anthony Smith has dominated wins with vicious knockouts over former champions Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night 134 and Rashad Evans at UFC 225 before pulling off a stunning submission win against Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night 138. Speaking to the media, the 30-year-old said “I have a hard time calling this as an opportunity presented to me because I have earned it. I am going to dethrone Jon as I have put the necessary work in the training camp and have managed to put the pieces together which will show what I am capable of in The Octagon. I couldn’t care less about who he really is because I have the tools and mindset to beat Jon Jones.”

The gritty Nebraska native may be a big underdog going into this fight but Smith is keen to show Jones, and the world, that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts while coming away with one of the biggest upsets in UFC Light Heavyweight history.

Welterweight Title Bout (Main Event) – Tyron Woodley vs Kamaru Usman

Welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will put his belt up for grabs against Kamaru Usman at UFC 23

Fighters Profile

Tyron Woodley

Tyron Woodley is coming off the best fight of his career after smashing Darren Till at UFC 228 to retain his Welterweight title. A seven-fight UFC unbeaten streak which includes four title defenses, Woodley has established himself amongst the most successful Welterweight champions of all-time. The former University of Missouri wrestler combines his world-class grappling with unreal power to knockout nearly every opponent he has faced in the UFC. Speaking to the media, The Chosen One says “Usman says a lot of stuff and sometimes when people talk too much, they are trying to reassure themselves. I just want him to tell me how he’s going to beat me cause the likes of Don Hyun Kim and Stephen Thompson have all been a victim to me and Usman doesn’t bring that speciality in this category”

Kamaru Usman

Kamaru Usman is pumped up for the challenge after rocketing to the top of the contender’s list with a huge winning streak and with each victory more dominant than the last. The Nigerian is a powerful wrestler and has shown huge strides in his striking arsenal in recent fights. Speaking to the media ahead of UFC 235, Usman said “I don’t think Tyron realized it, but I always sized him up, every time. He’s been paying attention to me for a long time, because he knew that I was going to be that guy that he was going to have to defend his title against. He knew that I was going to be the toughest guy that he would have to face. I’m expecting a war. That’s the most I can say about it”

In so many ways, Woodley and Usman are mirror images of each other when it comes to their individual skill sets, which makes this welterweight title fight an unbelievably intriguing chess match between two elite 170-pound fighters.

In addition to these title fights, UFC 235 will feature the Octagon debut of Ben Askren against Robbie Lawler, top women’s Strawweight prospect Weili Zhang fighting Tecia Torres and former Bantamweight kingpin Condy Garbrandt returning to action against Pedro Munhoz.

Watch UFC 235 Live and Exclusively in India on 3rd March 2019 at 8.30 am on SONY SIX and SONY SIX HD Channels