The UFC has reserved argubaly the very best fighter in the world to get a quick-turnaround bout, and I will offer my thoughts on this new matchup in the present MMA odds and ends. UFC 235 vs. Anthony Smith, jon Jones UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will put his belt on the line against Anthony Smith in UFC 235, which takes place March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. TMZ was the first to report about the bout, together with UFC president Dana White confirming the news together. The holdup now is that Jones still wants to get his permit from the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which should happen later this month after he’s got a hearing regarding his contentious failed drug test for picograms before UFC 232. The news of Jones vs. Smith being reserved for UFC 235 came along with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reporting that Kamaru Usman is set to fight UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley at UFC 235 at the co-main event. I wrote about that matchup in a week’s MMA odds and ends, which you may read here. The cole’s notes version of my thoughts on this bout are that Woodley deserves to become favored based on the fact he’s the defending champion, but I give Usman a great chance to win the title. As far as Jones vs. Smith goes, it is clearly the ideal struggle to book and it’s good news the UFC is creating this battle rather than Jones against Corey Anderson, that wouldn’t have been a competitive fight. At least Smith gets the ending ability to make things interesting, though Jones will presumably still enter this fight as a gigantic betting favorite due to his incredible record and just how great he looked in his return bout against Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232, which he won via third-round KO. Jones (23-1, 1 NC) has an unbelievable 17-1, 1 NC record from the Octagon that includes triumph over Daniel Cormier, Gustafsson double, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Mauricio”Shogun” Rua, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. By all accounts, he has one of the best resumes we’ve ever seen in the sport and he has looked pretty much unstoppable in his MMA career save for a very controversial DQ defeat to Matt Hamill almost a decade ago currently in December 2009. Smith (31-13) is among the most-improved fighters in the UFC. After racking up a 4-3 document as a middleweight during two different stints at the UFC, Smith has burst into stardom as a light heavyweight since moving up a weight class in the center of 2018. He’s defeated Shogun, Evans and in his very last finish Volkan Oezdemir all by finish, earning a title shot for his unbelievable run at 205lbs. As great as Smith has looked at light hearted, it is still impossible to favor him to conquer Jones, who has shown very few flaws in his game since making his UFC debut over a decade ago. I’d search for Jones to be about a -500 favored for this battle, and considering Smith has been completed 14 days in his career there’s a fantastic opportunity Jones stops him in this battle. Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker will be compensated should you make a purchase after clicking on the hyperlinks.

The UFC has reserved argubaly the top fighter in the world for a quick-turnaround bout, and I will give my thoughts on this new matchup in today’s MMA odds and ends. UFC 235 vs. Anthony Smith, jon Jones UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will put his belt on the line against Anthony Smith in UFC 235, which takes place March 2 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. TMZ was the first to report on the bout, with UFC president Dana White confirming the information together. The holdup now is that Jones still needs to get his permit in the Nevada State Athletic Commission, which should occur later this month after he’s got a hearing regarding his contentious failed drug test for picograms before UFC 232. The news of Jones vs. Smith being reserved for UFC 235 came along with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reporting which Kamaru Usman is place to fight UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley in UFC 235 at the co-main occasion. I wrote about that matchup in last week’s MMA odds and ends, which you may read here. The cole’s notes version of my ideas on that bout are that Woodley deserves to become favored based on the fact he is the defending champion, but that I give Usman a fantastic shot to win the title. As far as Jones vs. Smith goes, it is clearly the right fight to book and it’s good news the UFC is creating this battle instead of Jones against Corey Anderson, that wouldn’t happen to be a competitive struggle. At least Smith gets the ending ability to make matters interesting, though Jones will presumably still enter this battle as a massive betting favorite as a result of his unbelievable album and just how great he looked in his return bout against Alexander Gustafsson in UFC 232, he won through third-round KO. Jones (23-1, 1 NC) has an unbelievable 17-1, 1 NC record in the Octagon that includes triumph over Daniel Cormier, Gustafsson twice, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Mauricio”Shogun” Rua, Chael Sonnen and Vitor Belfort. By all accounts, he has one of the greatest resumes we have ever seen in the sport and he’s appeared pretty much unstoppable in his MMA career save to get a very controversial DQ defeat to Matt Hamill nearly a decade ago now in December 2009. Smith (31-13) is among the most-improved fighters in the UFC. After racking up a 4-3 record as a middleweight through two separate stints in the UFC, Smith has burst into stardom as a light heavyweight since moving up a weight class in the middle of 2018. He has defeated Shogun, Evans and at his very last conclusion Volkan Oezdemir all by finish, earning a title shot because of his unbelievable run at 205lbs. As good as Smith has looked at light hearted, it’s still not possible to prefer him to beat Jones, who has shown hardly any flaws in his game since making his UFC debut over a decade ago. I’d search for Jones to be about a -500 favored for this battle, and contemplating Smith has been finished 14 days in his profession there’s a good opportunity Jones stops him in this battle. Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links and MMA Odds Breaker will be paid if you make a purchase after clicking on the links.