On Saturday, March 2, the UFC hosted UFC 235: Jones vs. Smith from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
In the night’s main event, light heavyweight champion Jon Jones put his belt on the line against surging contender Anthony Smith. Jones returned from a lengthy steroid suspension in December, stopping Alexander Gustafsson in the third round to reclaim the 205-pound strap. Smith, meanwhile, had been on a tear since moving up from middleweight. The Nebraska native has demolished former champions Rashad Evans and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, as well as former title contender Volkan Oezdemir to earn his shot at gold.
The evening’s co-headliner also featured gold on the line as welterweight kingpin Tyron Woodley couldn’t defend against wrestling stalwart Kamaru Usman.
The 12-fight event kicked off with three prelims streaming on UFC Fight Pass at 6:30 p.m. ET. An additional four prelim bouts followed on ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, with the night’s five-fight main card aired live on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET.
Kamaru Usman def. Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45) – for welterweight title
Ben Askren def. Robbie Lawler by submission (bulldog choke). Round 1, 3:20
Weili Zhang def. Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Pedro Munhoz def. Cody Garbrandt by knockout (right hook). Round 1, 4:52
Zabit Magomedsharipov def. Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision (29-28×3)
Johnny Walker def. Misha Cirkunov by TKO (knee and punches). Round 1, 0:36
Cody Stamann def. Alejandro Perez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Diego Sanchez def. Mickey Gall by TKO (ground and pound). Round 2, 4:13
Edmen Shahbazyan def. Charles Byrd by TKO (elbows). Round 1, 0:38
Macey Chiasson def. Gina Mazany by TKO (punches). Round 1, 1:49
Hannah Cifers def. Polyana Viana by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)