The UFC is in Las Vegas for the first time in 2019 for Saturday’s UFC 235 fight card and what a fight card it is.
Two title fights sit atop the lineup. In the main event, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones puts his belt on the line against Anthony Smith. In the co-feature, welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley faces Kamaru Usman.
Outside of the two headlining bouts, Ben Askren makes his UFC debut against ex-welterweight champion Robbie Lawler. And former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt returns to the octagon for the first time since he suffered back-to-back losses to T.J. Dillashaw. Garbrandt matches up against Pedro Munhoz.
UFC 235 takes place Saturday at T-Mobile Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and UFC Fight Pass.
Here are eight burning questions about the fight card.
1. Is this the Jon Jones we’ve been waiting for?
With one of the quickest turnarounds of his career, it feels like Jones (23-1 MMA, 17-1 UFC) might be getting serious about this MMA thing. The 205-pound champion recently told MMAjunkie he wants to fight either once a quarter or three times in 2019. The last time Jones, who is the No. 1 ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light heavyweight rankings, fought three or more times in a calendar year was 2011. That was the year he finished Ryan Bader, Mauricio Rua, Quinton Jackson and Lyoto Machida by stoppage. It was also the year he first won the UFC light heavyweight title.
Over the past few years Jones has seemed to have two howitzers perpetually aimed at his feet. Outside the cage issues have seen him stripped of the title twice, limited him to four fights since 2014. Jones self-hobbling has also prevented him from cementing himself as the greatest fighter in UFC history.
If it’s true that at 31, Jones has finally put his complete and total focus on MMA, well, that’s a scary proposition for every fighter at 205 pounds. When he’s on, which he was when he regained the vacant light heavyweight title with a dominant TKO win over Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in December, he is a destroyer. If we’re going to see that Jones three or four times in 2019 we should all be thankful because no matter what you think of Jon Jones the person, it’s all but impossible to sit in awe of Jon Jones the mixed martial artist.
The thing is, we’ve heard these type of things from Jones before. To make us truly believe that he’s focused on realizing his goal of being “the best ever and be the most dominant champion in UFC history,” he needs to show us more than tell us.
2. “Do you know my name yet?”
Smith’s first stint with the UFC lasted one fight. In 2013, Smith (31-13 MMA, 7-3 UFC), who joined the UFC when the promotion absorbed Strikeforce, was submitted in 1:53 by Antonio Braga Neto in that contest. He spent nearly three years outside the UFC before re-signing with the promotion as a late injury replacement in 2016. The light heavyweight title challenger was eight years into his career by that time. Smith’s record stood at 24-11. He is now 31-13 with three straight stoppage wins in the light heavyweight division. That run, which began with a knockout of former champion Rashad Evans in June, earned Smith his shot at Jones and his belt at UFC 235. As overnight successes go, Smith’s has been 10 years in the making.
So, to answer the question Smith posed to Hector Lombard during their 2017 matchup, which Smith won via TKO, yes, we do know his name. Now the bigger question is, will we remember him more than another of Jon Jones’ victims?
Smith, who is ranked No. 11 at 205 pounds, does think we will remember his name because he plans to end Jones’ run as light heavyweight champion. The oddsmakers, who have Jones listed as around a 10-1 favorite, seem to disagree with that assessment.
3. What’s Tyron Woodley got to do to get some respect from Dana White?
As far as current UFC champions go, none have been more criticized by UFC President Dana White than Woodley (19-3-1 MMA, 9-2-1 UFC).
White, who often refers to Woodley as Tyrone, has been quick to criticize the 170-pound kingpin. White has called Woodley a “drama queen,” implored him to be a “stud champion” and finish fights, asked him to be more like Conor McGregor when it comes to accepting fights, called Woodley “full of (expletive),” questioned his willingness to fight and implied he would strip the welterweight title from Woodley’s waist.
Things have gotten so bad between the two that Woodley once demanded a public apology from the UFC boss.
Woodley won the welterweight title in 2016 when he knocked out Robbie Lawler with an overhand right that had lights out written all over it. Since then Woodley has gone four fights without a loss. His most recent win was a second-round submission of Darren Till in September. Despite his accomplishments, Woodley, who is the top ranked fighter at 170 pounds, has struggled to avoid White’s vitriol.
4. Will Kamaru Usman continue to be a problem?
After he knocked out Sergio Moraes at UFC Fight Night 116, Usman (14-1 MMA, 9-0 UFC) grabbed the mic and said, “Listen, anybody in that welterweight division that thinks they want this, you know you don’t because I’m a problem. I’m a problem in that division. Anybody? Who want this fight.”
Since that September 2017 victory, Usman has won three more fights. Each of those three bouts has gone the distance, including two five-round main event contests.
Usman has made some strides in his striking during his UFC tenure, but he primarily relies upon his wrestling skills to get the fight to the ground and keep it there. And that, speaking of problems, is where he’s going to run into an issue with Woodley.
Usman, who is ranked No. 3 at welterweight, has racked up an impressive 40 takedowns during his nine fights with the UFC, including 12 during his November win over former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos. The thing about that is that Woodley has the best takedown defense in UFC history. Woodley has stopped 97.6 percent of his opponent’s takedown attempts over 21 fights with the UFC and Strikeforce. Woodley has only been taken to the mat three times. The last man to successfully score a takedown on the current champ was Rory MacDonald, who did so in 2014.
With that in mind, it could be Usman who has the problem when it comes to this stylistic matchup.
5. Does Ben Askren have room for error?
You know the saying about only getting one chance to make a first impression? Well, that really, really, really applies to Askren, who after stints as the welterweight champion in Bellator and ONE Championship, joins the UFC. Askren (18-0 MMA, 0-0 UFC) is unbeaten in 19 fights as a pro and has long been considered one of the best fighters to never compete for the promotion. That changes at UFC 235 when he faces former UFC welterweight champion Lawler (28-12 MMA, 13-6 UFC), who is currently ranked No. 8 in the division.
Askren has never had a cozy relationship with UFC President Dana White and while the two of them have been playing nice since Askren signed to the UFC, Askren hasn’t forgotten their past exchanges.
“I think when when one person and another person have a disagreement, the thing you need to do, if you want to have respect for each other, is sit down and have that conversation,” Askren told MMAjunkie in December. “We haven’t been able to do that so far. He’s said nice things (in) the media, but that’s also because I volunteered to do the dirty work. I volunteered to switch and be the main event against Robbie (at UFC 233), Robbie said no. I volunteered to fight ‘Marty from Nebraska’ (Kamaru Usman), ‘Marty’ said no. I volunteered to fight dumb Colby (Covington). So he sees the value in what I’m doing, so now he’s being nice.
“It’s whatever, though. What has happened in the past doesn’t just go away. Because of his position, he thinks that’s how it goes. But listen, I’m here to fight people in the cage, not be anyone’s best friend. If we develop a friendship, that’s fine. But I’m here to fight people in the cage.”
If Askren defeats Lawler, it will give him the opportunity to fight the best the UFC has to offer at 170 pounds. If he loses, Askren can expect a rough go of things from fans, fighters and maybe even from White himself.
6. Can Cody Garbrandt rebuild himself?
Former bantamweight champ Garbrandt is in a tough spot. Sure, he’s the No. 4 ranked fighter at bantamweight, but he’s coming off two decisive knockout losses to current champion T.J. Dillashaw and that means barring something strange happening, he’s a long way from getting another title shot.
Garbrandt (11-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC), who was 11-0 before his losses to Dillashaw, has not fought since Dillashaw stopped him in the first round of their August 2018 matchup. The ex-champ returns at UFC 235 to face No. 11 ranked Munhoz (17-3 MMA, 7-3 UFC). Dillashaw said he spent his time off tending to his family and refocusing his mind and body.
During his time away, Garbrandt has had to listen to Dillashaw gloat about ruining his former teammate’s career and hear Jimmie Rivera talk about how Garbrandt’s injured pride was keeping him out of the cage. Just last week, Aljamain Sterling joined in on the Garbrandt bashing, saying he wanted to humble Garbrandt “a third time.”
The bantamweight division’s best fighters will be watching this fight. Garbrandt needs to make a statement against Munhoz, not just to restore his confidence, but to let the 135-pound division know that the road to a title fight goes through him.
7. Is Zabit Magomedsharipov championship material?
The MMA world has kind of fallen in love with Zabit Magomedsharipov, and you know what, that’s understandable. He has that Gegard Mousasi “I couldn’t be more bored with this” look about him when he enters the cage, but once the referee signals the start of the fight, he’s a fearsome competitor who combines the flashiness of Anthony Pettis on his feet with the takedown skills and ground control of Khabib Nurmagomedov. Magomedsharipov is 4-0 in the UFC with three fight-night bonuses and three submission wins.
After his win over Brandon Davis, which earned him consideration for MMAjunkie’s 2018 “Submission of the Year,” he called out former featherweight title challenger Chad Mendes. The logic behind that callout was, according to Magomedsharipov, “He’s not an easy contender, but you’ve got to fight the best to become the best.”
Magomedsharipov (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC), who is ranked at No. 9 at 145 pounds, faces the No. 14 ranked Jeremy Stephens (28-15 MMA, 15-14 UFC) in Las Vegas. And while that’s not the fight Magomedsharipov wanted, the matchup does represent the toughest test of his young UFC career. That fact is represented in the odds. Yes, Magomedsharipov is a favorite over his veteran opponent, but he is nowhere near the favorite he was heading into his previous four UFC fights.
A win here won’t get Magomedsharipov a title fight, but it should get him a bout against someone ranked above him, that is if those fighters will agree to fight him.
8. What are we to make of Johnny Walker?
There are a few things we know about Johnny Walker. The most obvious is that he packs a lot of power. Not only has Walker won both of his UFC fights by knockout, he has also racked up 11 other knockouts during his five-year career in MMA. We also know that Walker really loves what he does for a living. If you don’t believe that, watch his in-cage celebration after his 15-second KO of Justin Ledet in early February. As the medical staff attended to a prone Ledet, Walker dropped his 6-foot-6 frame to the mat and proceeded to do the worm. Finally, we know Walker (16-3 MMA, 2-0 UFC) asked to replace an injured Ovince Saint Preux against the No. 15 ranked light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov (14-4 MMA, 5-2 UFC) at UFC 235. The UFC granted Walker his wish.
After his win over Ledet, Walker told reporters, including MMAjunkie, “I’m coming. I’m coming to be a champion. I have shown nothing. I have so many things to show. I hope next time, maybe two rounds.”
Cirkunov has been with the UFC since 2015. In seven fights with the promotion, he’s never gone the distance and he’s left the first round only twice. His only losses are knockout defeats to Glover Teixeira and Volkan Oezdemir.
If Walker wants to prove he belongs in the light heavyweight rankings, this is the fight that could make that point.
Thoughts to ponder
Judging from social media, former interim welterweight champion Colby Covington (14-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) plans to be in attendance at UFC 235. It’s also a reasonable assumption that heavyweight kingpin Daniel Cormier (22-1 MMA, 11-1 UFC) will have an eye on the light heavyweight title bout. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, those two have to say after those matchups conclude. Will Woodley walkout out to his song, “I’ll Beat Yo Ass”? The tune, which was released in September, has more than 475,000 listens on Spotify.
The women’s strawweight bout between Tecia Torres and Weili Zhang could have a significant impact on the rankings in that division. Torres, who is the No. 8 ranked 115-pounder is in the midst of the first losing skid of her career, while the No. 14 ranked Zhang is 2-0 in the UFC and on a run of 17 straight wins as a pro. If you’re looking for a pre-event “Fight of the Night” candidate, don’t be afraid to consider Cirkunov vs. Walker. The two have 37 fights between them and only three of those bouts have gone the distance.
Could UFC 235 be the breakthrough fight for Alejandro Perez? Perez, who is an honorable mention in the bantamweight division faces the No. 8 ranked Cody Stamann. Perez has quietly racked up a 6-0-1 record in the UFC since 2015. Meanwhile, Stamann had his three-fight UFC winning streak come to an end in September when Aljamain Sterling submitted him.
Diego Sanchez is still at it. The winner of the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter” faces Mickey Gall at UFC 235 in a welterweight bout. Sanchez is coming off a win over Craig White in September. That win ended a two-fight losing skid. Sanchez has not won two fights in a row since he 2010-11. Win or lose, expect fans and pundits to once again call for Sanchez to hang ‘em up after this fight. Also, don’t be surprised if Sanchez refuses to heed those requests.
Edmen Shahbazyan’s career is going to be under the microscope not just at UFC 235, but for as long as he continues his association with two polarizing figures. Not only does Shahbazyan claim Glendale Fighting Club as his home gym, but Ronda Rousey’s One Fight Management also represents him. While it’s probably unfair to put undue pressure on a 21-year-old with limited experience, that’s kind of what we love to do in MMA. Shahbazyan faces Charles Byrd in a middleweight matchup.
Macy Chiassonwon Season 28 of TUF as a featherweight, she’ll fight in her first career bantamweight contest at UFC 235. Chiasson faces Gina Mazany. This fight will give us a good indication as to where Chiasson fits in the women’s divisions.
Speaking of Mazany, can we give her props for her sloth tattoo?
Lastly, this card is really good, ya’ll.
For more on UFC 235, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.
