UFC 235 takes place March 2 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Headlining a stacked card is a light heavyweight title fight as Jon Jones defends his crown against rising contender Anthony Smith. Jones (23-1 1 NC) regained his light heavyweight strap when he defeated Alexander Gustafsson via third-round TKO at UFC 232. He’ll have a short layoff as he prepares to defend his title for the ninth time against Smith.
“Bones” is currently ranked as Sherdog’s and ESPN’s pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. He is ranked second in the UFC’s pound-for-pound rankings, but a big win over Smith could see him overtake longtime rival Daniel Cormier to top spot. As for Smith (31-13), he’ll be looking to upset the odds and become a champion inside the Ultimate Fighting Championship for the first time. “Lionheart” is currently ranked as the fourth-best light heavyweight fighter by Sherdog, while ESPN and the UFC have him fifth and third respectively. A win over whom many consider as the greatest of all time in Jones could see Smith enter the pound-for-pound rankings for the first time in his career as well.
There’s another title fight in the co-main event as Tyron Woodley defends his welterweight title against Kamaru Usman. Woodley (19-3-1) last defended his title against Darren Till at UFC 228 last year and will look to make it four straight title defenses when he takes on Usman. “The Chosen One” is ranked fourth in Sherdog’s pound-for-pound list while ESPN and the UFC rate him fifth and sixth respectively. Standing in his way for a chance to move up those rankings is Usman (14-1) who is yet to be defeated inside the Octagon.
The Nigeria native is ranked as the second-best welterweight in the world by Sherdog, while ESPN rates him fourth, and the UFC has him as the No. 2 contender. Like Smith, a win over Woodley could see Usman not only become champion but get inserted into the pound-for-pound rankings.
Other bouts with ranked fighters on the main card include Robbie Lawler (28-12-0-1), rated as the fifth-best welterweight in the world by Sherdog, 10th by ESPN and sixth by the UFC, welcome Ben Askren (18-0 1 NC) to the Octagon.
Former bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt (11-2) will also look to get back on the win column when he takes on Pedro Munhoz (17-3 1 NC). Despite two consecutive losses to T.J. Dillashaw, Garbrandt is still ranked as the No. 3 bantamweight in the world by Sherdog. Both ESPN and the UFC, meanwhile, have him ranked second. Meanwhile, Munhoz is only ranked No. 8 by the UFC.
Finally, Tecia Torres (10-3), ranked as the seventh-best women’s strawweight by Sherdog, eighth by ESPN and No. 7 by the UFC, will take on unranked Weili Zhang (18-1) on the main card.
There are even more ranked fights on the prelims, with the standout bout being a featherweight matchup between Jeremy Stephens and Zabit Magomedsharipov. Stephens (28-15) is the ninth-best featherweight in the world as per Sherdog, while ESPN and the UFC rank him seventh and sixth respectively. Magomedsharipov (16-1), meanwhile, will look to climb the rankings with what would be his biggest win yet as the Dagestan native is currently slotted at No. 13 by the UFC.
Cody Stamann (17-2), ranked as the No. 11 bantamweight in the world by the UFC, is also competing against Alejandro Perez (21-6-1), while No. 14-ranked light heavyweight Misha Cirkunov (14-4) takes on No. 15, Johnny Walker (16-3).