What really stood out at UFC 235? Here are a few things …
1. As long he can keep from disqualifying himself (one way or another), Jones is untouchable
Only Jon Jones could lose two points for a foul and still completely run away with a fight on the scorecards. Maybe he’s also the only guy who could have “adverse” findings in two pre-fight drug tests and still be allowed to compete that same week. Such are the times we live in, I guess.
What Jones did to Anthony Smith over the course of five rounds could best be described as a dismantling. He nullified any hint of offense from the challenger, battered him to the body, the legs, and face, and took apart his title hopes the same way he took apart Smith’s defense – methodically and unmercifully.
Do we care that he couldn’t finish a 7-1 underdog? Yes and no. Smith’s nothing if not tough, and the illegal knee in the fourth round probably convinced Jones that the smart play was staying calm and coasting to the easy win.
Now he finds himself utterly bereft of ready challengers at light heavyweight, and with the whole rest of the year laid out in front of him. If there’s one thing we’ve learned by now, it’s that too much time off usually doesn’t lead to anything good for the champ who’s his own worst enemy.
2. A new champ, and maybe a whole new ballgame at welterweight
It was a dominant performance by Kamaru Usman and a strange one by Tyron Woodley. From the first moments of the fight, the challenger marched across the cage and seized control. The champion was content to let him, looking up from one bad position after another like a lost child who’d wandered into a bear’s den and couldn’t quite grasp the severity of the mauling as it was happening.
Was Woodley just that off, or is Usman really that good? That’s a question we’ll only get a satisfying answer to when Usman is forced to defend the belt that he snatched so convincingly. With any luck it’ll be Colby Covington standing across from him then, if only so that we can stop hearing about and from the guy.
3. A seriously “Funky” UFC debut
If you’d asked Ben Askren what his path to victory looked like against Robbie Lawler, I’m guessing he wouldn’t have said that the plan was to get nearly planted under the cage via a piledriver before eating a dozen of so Lawler hammers to the face.
Still, give “Funky” Ben credit. He took enough Lawler punches to kill a normal man, then got up and got right back to work doing that thing he does.
Was the stoppage unfortunate in every single way? Yep. But the way Lawler’s arm seemed to go limp while he was stuck in Askren’s bulldog choke, you could see how referee Herb Dean could have arrived at the wrong conclusion. And Lawler was mad, because how could he not be, but he was also remarkably cool about it. That kind of makes the worst possible kind of disappointment – the kind where everyone did the best they could.
Now that Askren’s shed some blood in that octagon, though, maybe he looks a lot more beatable to the rest of the welterweight division. And you know there are plenty of guys who’d love to ruin that unbeaten record.
4. What does it mean when the most dangerous part of a fight for you is the celebration afterwards?
I was trying to temper my Johnny Walker enthusiasm. I really was. But then he went out there and hit a jumping knee on Misha Cirkunov, a legit light heavyweight who he all but insisted on stepping up to fight on short notice.
Now? Well, I guess I’m all in. Assuming he didn’t injure himself while faceplanting into the worm during his post-fight celebration, I am officially excited about this lanky 205-pounder.
Is it possible that his quick rise will lead to a sudden fall? It is. Especially at light heavyweight, where the pool is shallow right up until it is dangerously deep, a lot of people can look good in the bottom half of the top 10 only to get swallowed in the top half.
But come on. This guy is too much fun. How can you not jump onboard the bandwagon now? Even if it doesn’t rocket all the way to the top, at least the ride ought to be a lot of fun.
5. Cody “No Love” just couldn’t help himself …
The way he explained it, Cody Garbrandt went into autopilot mode after a clash of heads with Pedro Munhoz in the first round. And unfortunately for him, his subconscious mind wants to do nothing but wing wild power punches, no matter how many times it’s gotten him into trouble before.
Just a couple years ago he was on top of the world, the man who dethroned bantamweight great Dominick Cruz to claim the title. Now Garbrandt is riding a three-fight losing streak thanks to three straight knockouts. That’s how fast fortunes can change in this sport. Especially when your default setting is to go looking for a brawl.
For complete coverage of UFC 235, check out the UFC Events section of the site.
