Two Championship bouts headlines UFC 235 in Las Vegas

Jones vs Smith and Woodley vs Usman headlines UFC 235

Las Vegas, January 31: Two highly anticipated world championship fights headline UFC 235: Jone vs. Smith which takes place on Saturday, March 2 at T-Mobile Arena and will air live on Pay-Per-View.

Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones wastes no time getting back in the Octagon as he takes on dangerous finisher and No. 3-ranked contender Anthony Smith.

Meanwhile, welterweight champion Tyron Woodley goes for his fifth consecutive title defense against No. 2-ranked contender Kamaru Usman.

Jones (23-1 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) reclaimed the light heavyweight championship in December with a spectacular TKO win over long-time rival Alexander Gustafsson.

'Bones' Jones now looks to further extend his record for most light heavyweight championship title defenses with another show-stealing performance. Throughout his career, Jones has defeated the who's who of MMA, including Daniel Cormier, Rashad Evans, Lyoto Machida, Rampage Jackson and Shogun Rua.

A former middleweight mainstay, Smith (31-13, fighting out of Omaha, Neb.) looks to shock the world by dethroning the most dominant 205-pound champion in UFC history. A hard-hitting KO artist, Smith burst onto the light heavyweight scene less than a year ago.

During this time, Lionheart Smith has delivered highlight-reel finishes against Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua and Volkan Oezdemir. With momentum on his side, Smith has his sights on taking out Jones and capturing UFC gold.

A decorated grappler with KO power, Woodley (19-3-1, fighting out of St. Louis, Mo.) looks to continue his winning ways by stopping one of the welterweight division's biggest threats.

During his UFC run, The Chosen One has beaten Darren Till, Demian Maia, Stephen Thompson, Robbie Lawler and Kelvin Gastelum. In March, Woodley aims to further build his legacy as one of the greatest 170-pound champions in UFC history.

Currently riding a 13-fight win streak that extends more than five years, Usman (14-1, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Auchi, Nigeria) is poised to shake up the 170-pound division.

A dominating grappler, the 'Nigerian Nightmare' Usman has earned impressive victories against Rafael Dos Anjos, Demian Maia, Sergio Moraes and Sean Strickland. Usman is now gunning to dethrone Woodley and take his spot at the top of the division.

Additional bouts on the card include:

Former welterweight champion and No. 6-ranked contender Robbie Lawler (28-12 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) looks to spoil the highly anticipated debut of unbeaten Ben Askren (18-0 1NC, fighting out of Milwaukee, Wisc.)

Former bantamweight champ and No. 1-ranked contender Cody Garbrandt (11-2, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) looks to get back in the win column against surging No. 9 Pedro Munhoz (17-3 1NC, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Sao Paulo, Brazil)

In a featherweight bout guaranteed to deliver fireworks, No. 6-ranked contender Jeremy Stephens (28-15, fighting out of San Diego, Calif.) battles No. 14 Zabit Magomedsharipov (16-1, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia)

No. 7-ranked strawweight contender Tecia Torres (10-3, fighting out of Colorado Springs, Colo.) aims to snap the winning streak of the rising Weili Zhang (18-1, fighting out of Beijing, China)

Light heavyweight contenders collide when No. 11-ranked Ovince Saint Preux (23-12, fighting out of Knoxville, Tenn.) faces No. 14 Misha Cirkunov (14-4, fighting out of Toronto, Canada)

No. 13-ranked bantamweight contender Thomas Almeida (22-3, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) looks to re-assert himself as a title threat against Marlon Vera (12-5-1, fighting out of Chone, Ecuador)

The Ultimate Fighter season one winner Diego Sanchez (30-11, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) makes his 29th UFC appearance against hot prospect Mickey Gall (5-1, fighting out of Green Brook Township, N.J.)

Gina Mazany (5-2, fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev.) battles The Ultimate Fighter season 28 winner Macy Chiasson (3-0, fighting out of New Orleans, La.) in a bantamweight bout

Broadcast Info:

Preliminary fights will air nationally in English and Spanish on ESPN and ESPN Deportes starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

In addition to linear coverage of the preliminaries, fans will be able to purchase and watch UFC 235 on ESPN.com/UFC235, beginning February 18 (once purchased, fans will be able to watch the event on the web or on the ESPN App on mobile or TV-connected devices). They also can purchase and watch UFC 235 on UFC.com or the official app.

In India, the event's main card will be telecast via Sony Pictures Network and due to time difference the show will be live on March 3.

Scheduled fight card:

Light Heavyweight title bout: Jon Jones (c) vs. Anthony Smith

Welterweight title bout: Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Kamaru Usman

Welterweight bout: Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren

Featherweight bout: Jeremy Stephens vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov

Women's Bantamweight bout: Holly Holm vs. Aspen Ladd

Women's Bantamweight bout: Gina Mazany vs. Macy Chiasson

Light Heavyweight bout: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Misha Cirkunov

Bantamweight bout: Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz

Bantamweight bout: Thomas Almeida vs. Marlon Vera

Bantamweight bout: Alejandro Perez vs. Yadong Song