Jon Jones, arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time, will be making a quick return to the Octagon when he puts his light heavyweight championship on the line against Anthony Smith in the main event of UFC 235 on Saturday, March 2, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The co-main event features Tyron Woodley defending his welterweight title against Kamaru Usman.
Jones (23-1, one no-contest) will step back in after easily dispatching Alexander Gustafsson in their rematch 63 days ago at UFC 232. Before that fight, Jones had only competed five times since September 2013. He was arrested in 2015 after being involved in a hit-and-run accident involving a pregnant woman and fleeing the scene. He also failed two drug tests, with the latter failure netting him a 15-month suspension.
In February, the Nevada State Athletic Commission granted Jones a conditional one-fight license for UFC 235. During the lead-up to the event, Jones needed to submit to, and pay for, additional drug testing by the commission. The NSAC will reconvene before UFC 235 and decide whether Jones must submit to additional testing from the commission, the Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
Smith (31-13) has taken the 205-pound division by storm since moving up from middleweight in June. He has stopped former champions Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. After those performances, Smith earned the shot at Jones by submitting former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir in October.
Woodley (19-3-1) has been on a bit of a roller-coaster ride ahead of UFC 235. Things were looking good for him after he tapped out Darren Till at UFC 228 to retain his belt for the fourth time. A title unification bout with interim champion and heated rival Colby Covington appeared to be on the docket for early 2019, but Woodley underwent hand surgery. The procedure drew the ire of UFC president Dana White, to the point that White threatened to make another interim title fight after Covington was stripped of the interim tag because Woodley couldn’t defend the championship in a timely manner.
In stepped Usman. Since losing the second fight of his career, the “Nigerian Nightmare” has won 13 consecutive fights, with nine of those occurring in the UFC. He earned a shot at Woodley with a dominant unanimous decision victory over former lightweight champion and former interim welterweight title challenger Rafael dos Anjos in November.
UFC 235 looks to be the best card from top to bottom so far in 2019. There are two championship fights, a series of highly competitive contests and notable names.
(All times Eastern.)
When is UFC 235?
UFC 235 will take place Saturday, March 2. Pay-per-view coverage begins at 10 p.m. Jon Jones and Anthony Smith should enter the Octagon around 12:15 a.m.
How do I watch UFC 235?
The main card on pay-per-view can be purchased for $64.99. For more information on how to order UFC 235, contact your service provider. You can also live-stream UFC 235 and order the main card on UFC.TV for $64.99.
Where is UFC 235?
UFC 235 will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
UFC 235 betting odds
According to sportsbookreview.com (as of Feb. 26), Jon Jones is a -1450 favorite, which means you’d need to bet $1,450 to win $100. Anthony Smith is a +700 underdog, meaning if you were to bet $100, you would net $700.
Jon Jones record, bio
Name: Jon Jones
Nationality: American
Born: July 19, 1987
Height: 6-4
Reach: 84.5 inches
Total fights: 25
Record: 23-1, one no-contest
Anthony Smith record, bio
Name: Anthony Smith
Nationality: American
Born: July 26, 1988
Height: 6-4
Reach: 76 inches
Total fights: 44
Record: 31-13
UFC 235 fight card
Main card
- Jon Jones (c) vs. Anthony Smith for Jones’ light heavyweight title
- Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Kamaru Usman for Woodley’s welterweight title
- Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren; welterweights
- Tecia Torres vs. Weili Zhang; women’s strawweights
- Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz; bantamweights
Preliminary card
- Jeremy Stephens vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov; featherweight
- Misha Cirkunov vs. Johnny Walker; light heavyweights
- Cody Stamann vs. Alejandro Pérez; bantamweights
- Diego Sanchez vs. Mickey Gall; welterweights
- Edmen Shahbazyan vs. Charles Byrd; middleweights
- Gina Mazany vs. Macy Chiasson; women’s bantamweights
- Marlon Vera vs. Frankie Saenz; bantamweights
- Polyana Viana vs. Hannah Cifers; women’s strawweights
