Jones vs. Smith: UFC 235 Main Card Odds and Predictions
The five-fight main card is expected to begin at 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view. Here’s a look at those bouts – plus the last prelim — and their Sports Interaction UFC odds.
Jon Jones vs. Anthony Smith
Records: Jones (23-1), Smith (31-13)
Division: Light heavyweight
UFC Odds: Jones -850, Smith +500
Prediction: Jones by decision
Mixed martial arts lost one of its greats recently to retirement in Georges St-Pierre, certainly the greatest Canadian MMA fighter ever. GSP is on the short list of the best of all-time regardless of division. The best? One could make an argument for the 31-year-old Jones. In the Octagon, he has no peer. He just seems to derail his career out of it, whether due to legal issues or failing drug tests. In 2011, Jones became the youngest champion in UFC history, and he never lost it in the Octagon. However, a failed drug test would come out after Jones beat Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 and Jones was suspended and stripped of the light heavyweight belt.
Jones earned it back in December with a third-round knockout of Alexander Gustafsson, but even that came with an asterisk. Jones tested positive for trace amounts of a steroid and the state of Nevada wouldn’t give him a licence to fight. So the entire card, in a truly unprecedented move, was shifted to Los Angeles. The 30-year-old Smith is a former middleweight who has fought at 205 pounds for less than a year. However, he is on an impressive three-fight winning streak over Volkan Oezdemir, Mauricio Rua and Rashad Evans. There’s some talk Jones might face Cormier, the heavyweight champ, with a win even though Jones (unofficially) has beaten him twice already.
Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman
Records: Woodley (19-3-1), Usman (14-1)
Division: Welterweight
UFC Odds: Woodley -225, Usman +175
Prediction: Usman by decision
Woodley puts his welterweight belt on the line against the No. 2 ranked fighter in the division – there’s a bit of a backstory why Woodley isn’t fighting No. 1 Colby Covington, but Usman surely isn’t complaining for his title shot. The 36-year-old Woodley, ranked the No. 6 pound-for-pound fighter by the UFC, won the belt in 2016 and makes his fifth defence. One of those was a draw against Stephen Thompson, but the two would fight again and Woodley won that by unanimous decision. He actually was a slight underdog in his last fight at UFC 228 but beat Darren Till by submission. Canadians may remember Woodley’s last loss as it was to Rory MacDonald at UFC 174.
Usman, 31, brings a 13-fight winning streak into this one. The “Nigerian Nightmare” took out former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos most recently in the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter 28” by unanimous decision. Usman has a three-inch height advantage and two in reach.
Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren
Records: Lawler (28-12), Askren (18-0)
Division: Welterweight
UFC Odds: Askren -250, Lawler +185
Prediction: Askren by submission
Not often a 34-year-old makes his UFC debut, but that’s the case for the unbeaten Askren, a former champion in Bellator and One Championships – he reigned for a total of six combined years as a champion. Because it’s his first UFC fight, Askren isn’t ranked but is surely one of the Top 10 guys in the welterweight division. He’s a former NCAA two-time wrestling champion who once won 87 straight matches. Lawler is ranked sixth and is a former welterweight champion.
Neither guy has fought since 2017 – Askren briefly retired for a while. Lawler lost the belt in 2016 – one of his successful title defence was vs. Canadian Rory MacDonald — and comes off a December 2017 loss to ex-lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos.
Tecia Torres vs. Weili Zhang
Records: Torres (10-3), Zhang (18-1)
Division: Women’s strawweight
UFC Odds: Zhang -140, Torres +110
Prediction: Torres by decision
Torres has one of UFC’s better nicknames: “The Tiny Tornado.” She is ranked seventh in the division but is coming off back-to-back losses to former champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk and Jessica Andrade, both by unanimous decision. Torres’ third career loss is to current strawweight champion Rose Namajunas. Zhang has spent most of her career fighting in Asia but is 2-0 in the UFC with wins over Danielle Taylor and Jessica Aguilar. Both these fighters excel in kickboxing.
Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz
Records: Garbrandt (11-2), Munhoz (17-3)
Division: Bantamweight
UFC Odds: Garbrandt -190, Munoz +150
Prediction: Garbrandt by KO/TKO
Garbrandt is a former bantamweight champion but enters off back-to-back losses – both by KO/TKO – to current titleholder TJ Dillashaw. The UFC still ranks Garbrandt No. 2 in the division, but he probably won’t get another title shot anytime soon as long as Dillashaw is the champion. Somewhat been there, done that for the UFC. Garbrandt has never won a fight by submission. The Brazilian Munhoz is ranked No. 8 and is considered to have the division’s best guillotine choke. Nine of his victories are by submission, but Munhoz hasn’t faced anyone near Garbrandt’s quality yet.
Jeremy Stephens vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Records: Stephens (28-15), Magomedsharipov (16-1)
Division: Featherweight
UFC Odds: Magomedsharipov -325, Stephens +230
Prediction: Magomedsharipov by submission
This is the finale of the prelim card, and Zabit (yeah, we aren’t typing out that last name again), is considered a rising star in the organization. He’s ranked 13th with a bullet and would certainly get into the Top 10 with a victory over No. 6 Stephens. Zabit, a 27-year-old Russian, is 4-0 since joining the UFC but this will be his best competition by far. He’s takedown machine with 23 of them in those four fights. Seven of his wins have come via submission, including one by a rare Suloev Stretch kneebar.
Stephens, meanwhile, will become one of just two fighters with at least 30 UFC appearances as he’s 15-14 under that umbrella. The 32-year-old comes off a first-round loss last July to former featherweight champ Jose Aldo.