Jon Jones (23-1, 10 KOs) puts his UFC light heavyweight championship on the line this Saturday when he takes on Anthony “Lionheart” Smith (31-13, 17 KOs) in the main event of UFC 235 in Paradise, Nevada.
Smith is a very experienced fighter with a lot of fights under his belt, yet he enters this combat at the T-Mobile Arena as the underdog (+675) not only because he has double-digit losses, but mainly due to the fact that he also has a lot of weaknesses when compared to Jones (-975), a two-time champion that has far superior fighting skills .
Although he has enough power to stop Jones, Smith will have a hard time landing a knockout blow. Jones is not only extremely skilled offensively, but he’s one of the best defensive fighters in the sport.
Smith may not knock Jones out, but he won’t look bad in this combat. Jones is simply on another level and will prove too much for Smith to win this fight, but the fight will be far from a cakewalk or a one-sided affair.
Unless Jones is caught off guard and Smith is able to land a power strike to win by KO or stoppage, he’s likely to lose this combat. To have chances of winning this fight and landing that mighty blow Smit must find a way to be the aggressor and avoid staying on the outside by bringing the pressure to him.
If he fails to do that Jones will systematically pick Smith apart one way or the other. Since Jones is better overall and has great defensive skills don’t expect Smith to be able to go on the offensive throughout the fight.
He’s likely to get tired or be caught off the guard by Jones and will let him take command of the fight. Thus, expect Jones to win via TKO in the fourth or fight round.
This is one of two title bouts in the main card of UFC 235. In the co-main event, defending welterweight champion Tyron Woodley clashes with Nigerian American fighter Kamaru Usman.
