Not too many people seem to expect Jon Jones to lose the light-heavyweight title at UFC 235, and that’s reflected in the early betting lines for the March 2nd card.
Jones will face surging former middleweight Anthony Smith at the event (provided he’s licensed by the Nevada Commission), and the champ is a favorite right now in the -755 to – 1000 range.
And while Smith is a noted finisher and has scored three straight stoppage wins at 205, those odds shouldn’t really come as a surprise. After all, Jones is considered by many to be the G.O.A.T.
The odds for the card’s other title fight, welterweight champ Tyron Woodley versus Kamaru Usman are much, much closer. Usman is currently the underdog in the +130 to +140 range, while Woodley’s the favorite with odds ranging from -16o to -170.
When you consider Usman has won nine straight fights heading into UFC 235, and his wrestling background, these odds probably aren’t shocking a lot of folks.
UFC 235 will be hosted by the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Here is the planned line-up thus far for the stacked card.
UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Jon Jones (c) vs. Anthony Smith
UFC Welterweight Championship
Tyron Woodley (c) vs. Kamaru Usman
Welterweight: Robbie Lawler vs. Ben Askren
Strawweight: Tecia Torres vs. Weili Zhang
Welterweight: Diego Sanchez vs. Mickey Gall
Female Bantamweight: Gina Mazany vs. Macy Chiasson
Female Bantamweight: Holly Holm vs. Aspen Ladd
Featherweight: Jeremy Stephens vs. Zabit Magomedsharipov
Light Heavyweight: Ovince Saint Preux vs. Misha Cirkunov
Bantamweight: Cody Garbrandt vs. Pedro Munhoz