Las Vegas, March 3: Despite being docked two points for an illegal knee, Jon Jones dominated Anthony Smith to retain the Light Heavyweight title in UFC 235: Jones vs. Smith event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday (March 2).
Smith managed to take Jones the distance in the main event of UFC 235, but was outworked by the champion, who didn't find the knock out he was looking for. In the end, the judges scored the fight with a trio of 48-44 in Jones' favour.
"He did a great job, I’m so proud of his career, he had his ups and downs and now he’s here, he’s amazing and a true inspiration. It was an honor to fight against Anthony and it was really refreshing not talking trash back and forth." - @JonnyBones after his #UFC235 victory. pic.twitter.com/QguvJjzpGq
— UFC News (@UFCNews) March 3, 2019
In the co-main event, Kamaru Usman outworked Tyron Woodley in all the five rounds to claim the UFC welterweight title with a couple of 50-44 scores and one judge scoring 50-45.
Meanwhile, in the main card opener, former UFC bantamweight champion Cody Garbrandt continued his losing streak as he was knocked out in the first round by Pedro Munhoz. In the women's strawweight bout that folowed, Weili Zhang earned a decision win over Tecia Torres.
💰 B O N U S 💰
— UFC (@ufc) March 3, 2019
POTN: @DiegoSanchezUFC & @JohnnyWalkerMMA
FOTN: Garbrandt vs @PedroMunhozMMA@P3Protein pic.twitter.com/oEM4YfBmre
Plus, former Bellator champion Ben Askren marked his UFC debut with a submission win over veteran Robbie Lawler. Askren took an early beating, but choked Lawler to keep a perfect record. However, the stoppage looked controversial as referee Herb Dean seemed to have rushed to stop the fight at the 3:20 mark of the first round.
Earlier, in the preliminary card, Johnny Walker and Edmen Shahbazyan had quick finishes in their respective bouts. The pair were not the only ones to earn stoppage wins as Diego Sanchez and Macy Chiasson also won via TKO. Meanwhile, there were decision wins for Zabit Magomedsharipov, Cody Stamann and Hannah Cifers.
Here are the final results of UFC 235:
Main Card
1. Light Heavyweight title bout: Jon Jones defeated Anthony Smith by unanimous decision (48-44, 48-44, 48-44)
2. Welterweight title bout: Kamaru Usman defeated Tyron Woodley by unanimous decision (50-44, 50-44, 50-45
3. Welterweight bout: Ben Askren defeated Robbie Lawler by technical submission (bulldog choke) - Round 1, 3:20
4. Women's Strawweight bout: Weili Zhang defeated Tecia Torres by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
5. Bantamweight bout: Pedro Munhoz defeated Cody Garbrandt by knockout (punches) - Round 1, 4:52
Preliminary Card
1. Featherweight bout: Zabit Magomedsharipov defeated Jeremy Stephens by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
2. Light Heavyweight bout: Johnny Walker defeated Misha Cirkunov by TKO (flying knee, punches) - Round 1, 0:36
3. Bantamweight bout: Cody Stamann defeated Alejandro Perez by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
4. Welterweight bout: Diego Sanchez defeated Mickey Gall by TKO (punches) - Round 2, 4:13
5. Middleweight bout: Edmen Shahbazyan defeated Charles Byrd by TKO (elbows, punches) - Round 1, 0:38
6. Women's Bantamweight bout: Macy Chiasson defeated Gina Mazany by TKO (punches) - Round 1, 1:49
7. Women's Strawweight bout: Hannah Cifers defeated Polyana byna by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)