UFC 235: Jon Jones and Anthony Smith battle for the UFC light-heavyweight title in Las Vegas

03 March 2019

JONES CLAIMS LANDSLIDE DECISION WIN

The bout wasn't the most exciting of the night, but Jon 'Bones' Jones dominated the main event of UFC 235 as he claimed a clear unanimous decision win over Anthony Smith, with scores of 48-44 on all three scorecards.

The only blemish on Jones' performance was a fourth-round knee that was adjudged to have been landed on a downed opponent that prompted referee Herb Dean to deduct two points from Jones.

But such was the defending champion's dominance, the two-point penalty was no factor in the final result as Jones successfully defended the title for the first time since he reclaimed it in his last victory.

USMAN DOMINATES WOODLEY TO CLAIM WELTERWEIGHT GOLD

"The Nigerian Nightmare" Kamaru Usman produced a quite brilliant performance to totally dominate Tyron Woodley and capture the UFC welterweight title.

Usman dominated Woodley across each and every round to earn scores of 50-44, 50-44, 50-45 from the octagonside judges and win the belt.

Usman used his wrestling to sap the champion's gas tank in the first round, then dominated in the second to earn a 10-8 on many experts' scorecards.

Usman never let up the pace throughout the last three rounds to completely dominate the defending champion and earn the landslide unanimous decision victory.

ASKREN'S OLD BOSS GIVES HIS SEAL OF APPROVAL

ONE Championship CEO and Chairman Chatri Sityodtong was Ben Askren's boss during the American's time in Asia, and he tweeted a tribute to his former welterweight champion after watching him defeat former UFC champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 235.

"Congrats to my bro, @Benaskren! No one in the UFC welterweight division will be able to stop Ben. Stylistically, Robbie Lawler was the toughest opponent possible (a world class wrestler with monster KO power) for Ben in the UFC."

ASKREN WEATHERS THE STORM

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight champion Ben Askren survived an early-fight battering at the hands of Robbie Lawler before winning via submission amid controversial circumstances.

Lawler viciously slammed Askren early on and hammered him with heavy punches, but the former collegiate wrestling champion somehow survived and came storming back to lock up a bulldog choke on the former UFC champion.

And after Lawler's right arm appeared to go limp and dropped to the mat, referee Herb Dean checked to see if Lawler was still conscious before waving off the contest.

Lawler jumped up and appealed instantly, but replays seemed to show that Lawler's arm went limp.

Askren, in true wrestling "heel" style, grabbed the mic and addressed UFC president Dana White, saying: "Hey Dana. Is that the best you've got?"

ZHANG WEILI CLAIMS LANDMARK WIN

Chinese strawweight contender Zhang Weili produced the best performance of her UFC career to date to outwork longtime contender Tecia Torres and capture a unanimous decision victory.

Zhang earned scores of 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 to put herself right in the mix at the top of the UFC's women's strawweight division.

And after conducting her post-fight interview through a translator, she grabbed the microphone and spoke a few words of English, saying: "My name is Weili. Remember me!"

Check out RT Sport's report on Zabit Magomedsharipov's victory over Jeremy Stephens at UFC 235...

MUNHOZ STUNS GARBRANDT IN ONE

Pedro Munhoz is known as a top-level grappler in the UFC's bantamweight division, but he went toe-to-toe with knockout artist and former champ Cody Garbrandt and beat the striker at his own game.

Munhoz threatened early with a heel hook attempt, and that early grappling exchange seemed to cause Garbrandt to be more cautious in his attack.

But after Munhoz again threatened with a submission attack on the mat, the fight returned to the feet and Garbrandt went on the attack, throwing big shots at the Brazilian.

But rather than back down and look to take the fight to the mat again, Munhoz planted his feet and fired back, eventually landing clean on the former world champion's chin and sending him to the canvas.

That was a huge win for Munhoz, who has been a ranked contender for a long time, but that incredible win will propel him right towards the sharp end of the division for his next fight.

ZABIT GETS IT DONE IN PUNISHING BATTLE

Russian featherweight star Zabit Magomedsharipov moved one big step closer to a shot at the UFC featherweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Jeremy Stephens.

Magomedsharipov fought much of the contest off the back foot, with Stephens looking to walk down the Russian star. 

But Magomedsharipov held the upper hand throughout most of the bout to earn scores of 29-28 on all three scorecards to claim the biggest win of his UFC career to date.

JOHNNY WALKER DOES IT AGAIN... THEN INJURES HIMSELF!

Spectacular Brazilian knockout artist Johnny Walker left the Las Vegas crowd open-mouthed in amazement with his latest quickfire knockout victory.

Walker stepped in at just a couple of weeks' notice and knocked out longtime contender Misha Cirkunov with his first strike of the fight. That strike - a spectacular flying knee - finished Cirkunov in just 36 seconds. But that wasn't all...

After his stunning win, Walker saluted the crowd, then fell forward and attempted to do The Worm in celebration, only to pop his left shoulder out of its socket in the process.

A laughing Walker confirmed to Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview that he had indeed dislocated his shoulder during his celebration, before announcing that he loves Mickey Mouse and calling for people to follow him on Instagram because he needs to get some sponsors.

With performances like that, you'd imagine he'll be just fine.

A CLASSY MOVE BY ONE CHAMPIONSHIP

Ben Askren will make his long-awaited UFC debut tonight when he takes on former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler on the main card.

Askren is a multiple former world champion himself, having captured and defended the welterweight title in both Bellator MMA and ONE Championship earlier in his career.

And ahead of his UFC debut tonight, his former employers at ONE Championship posted a message of support to their respected former world champion to wish him all the best for his octagon debut.

Classy stuff.

'THE SPARTAN' EDGES IT ON THE CARDS

A gritty, attritional battle between bantamweights Cody Stamann and Alejandro Perez goes all the way to the scorecards, with America's Stamann taking the unanimous decision victory with scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.

It wasn't a great fight, as a victorious, but disappointed, Stamann said to the camera after the result: "That wasn't me."

SANCHEZ TURNS BACK THE CLOCK

Diego Sanchez, the first man to win the accolade "The Ultimate Fighter", is still going strong in the UFC, and he claimed victory in his 41st career bout with a second-round TKO stoppage of Mickey Gall.

Sanchez used his superior cardio and wrestling skills to dominate the much younger Gall as he sapped the welterweight prospect's gas tank before battering him on the ground.

ON THE BANNED LIST...

According to a poster captured backstage by UFC star Diego Sanchez, arena security have been warned to look out for UFC fighters Colby Covington and Nate Diaz.

Covington has been living up to his moniker and causing "Chaos" all week, crashing the open workouts, shooting social media videos near UFC president Dana White's car and even gatecrashing his UFC boss at the blackjack table at the Palms casino.

Nate Diaz, as far as we know, hasn't done anything to warrant his presence on the poster, but for a man who has a reputation as something of a wild card, maybe the UFC staff know something we don't.

SHAHBAZYAN GETS IT DONE QUICK

Edmen Shahbazyan looked like a million dollars in his middleweight bout against Charles Byrd as he finished his opponent in just 38 seconds.

Shahbazyan lit up Byrd with strikes, forcing his opponent to shoot in for a takedown. But while Byrd was looking to lock his hands around Shahbazyan's legs, the 21-year-old unloaded a barrage of elbows to finish his opponent in brutal, clinical fashion.

CHIASSON IMPRESSES WITH BIG KO

Winner of The Ultimate Fighter Macy Chiasson claimed an eye-catching victory over Las Vegas native Gina Mazany in the women's bantamweight division.

Chiasson dominated from the off, using her superior height and reach advantage to land strikes almost at will before eventually dropping and finishing Mazany up against the cage with a powerful salvo of punches.

Mazany was inconsolable after losing out on home soil, but for Chiasson it's the start of a journey that could go a long way in the women's 135lb division.

CIFERS TAKES THE NIGHT'S FIRST WIN

Softly spoken, but hard as nails, American Hannah Cifers captured her first win in the UFC in the opening bout of the night.

Cifers shaded a very competitive bout with Brazil's Polyana Viana, who made headlines a few weeks back when she beat up a mugger who tried to steal her phone.

After three rounds, the judges were split, with Cifers getting the victory with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28. 

02 March 2019

TONIGHT'S FIGHT CARD

THE LONG-AWAITED DEBUT

He's 18-0, he's happy to speak his mind and he's a former world champion in Bellator MMA and ONE Championship. And now Ben 'Funky' Askren is about to make his UFC debut tonight against former welterweight world champion Robbie Lawler in a bout that has a lot of people within the sport very excited.

Lawler has the sort of skillset to give most fighters fits, with concussive punch power, excellent takedown defense and a will to win that few in the sport can match.

Askren, by contrast, is much more of a specialist. He's a pure wrestler, and a darned good one - he represented the USA in the Olympic Games. And he's used that dominant wrestling skillset to smother and maul his opponents throughout his unblemished 18-fight career.

Now he's fighting at the highest level of mixed martial arts. If he can defeat Lawler, many of the doubts about his ability at the top level will be erased. But Lawler hasn't shown up in Vegas to make up the numbers. He still wants his old title back, and he's planning to score a statement victory and push for a rematch with the man who stunned him to win the belt - Woodley.

THE CO-MAIN EVENT

For UFC welterweight world champion Tyron Woodley, every fight is about his legacy. The St. Louis, Missouri native is looking to further cement his status as the premier 170-pound fighter in the world when he takes on 'The Nigerian Nightmare' Kamaru Usman in tonight's co-main event bout.

Both men look pretty well matched on paper, but Usman has never competed in the rarified air of a world title fight before. Woodley is a powerful, confident, established world champion, and he's going to take some beating. But perhaps Usman, whose skillset features similar qualities to the world champion, has the game to push Woodley harder than any challenger to date.

Will it be enough? Finding out should be a lot of fun.

THE MAIN EVENT

Jon Jones is, quite simply, the best fighter in the UFC today. He's a two-time UFC light-heavyweight champion who never lost his belt in the cage and is now on a path to redemption after a troubled career that has seen him caught up in a plethora of issues, both in the sport and away from it.

But now he's back on form, clean of his anti-doping issues and ready to reassert his dominance on the UFC's light-heavyweight division.

But Anthony 'Lionheart' Smith has other plans.

The straight-talking former middleweight campaigner has seen his career hit its highest point since his move up to light-heavyweight. Fighting at his more natural weight, Smith looks every inch a legitimate world title contender, but the bookies have already counted him out.

Jones has been rated a 1/12 shot to beat Smith tonight, but Smith says he feels "like a criminal, because I know something nobody else does". His approach to fight week has drawn praise even from Jones, who was suitably impressed with Smith's interviews and confident demeanor ahead of the fight.

But talking a good game is one thing. Translating it to the cage in a world title fight is quite another. And doing it against possibly the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet makes it a mountainous task.

Can Smith overcome the odds - and Jones - and capture the title, or will Jones extend his unbeaten streak in world title fights to 13?

It's going to be a fascinating matchup.

IT'S FIGHT NIGHT IN VEGAS!

Welcome to RT Sport's live coverage of the UFC's latest blockbuster event, UFC 235: Jones vs Smith.

The fight card is absolutely stacked with great matchups, including two world title fights at the top of the card featuring two of the very best champions in the sport, two-time light-heavyweight world champ Jon 'Bones' Jones and all-conquering welterweight world champion Tyron 'The Chosen One' Woodley.

Ahead of fight night, get a taste for what's to come by checking out the UFC's excellently-produced Countdown show.