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UFC 235 – BETTING AND PREDICTIONS

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28 February 2019, by: Quintin van Jaarsveld

UFC 235 – BETTING AND PREDICTIONS

Opportunity knocks at UFC 235 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday (Sunday morning SA time) as Jon Jones and Tyron Woodley put their light heavyweight and welterweight titles on the line against hungry challengers Anthony Smith and Kamaru Usman.

Also on the stacked card, former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler returns to welcome wrestling standout Ben Askren to the Octagon in a much-anticipated match-up, world No. 7 Tecia Torres takes on rising star Weili Zhang in a women’s strawweight scrap while ex-bantamweight king Cody Garbrandt looks to make a statement against Pedro Munhoz.

The Prelims are packed with exciting athletes and compelling contests; don’t blink when featherweights Jeremy Stephens and Zabit Magomedsharipov face off, and look out for the legendary Diego Sanchez as he battles Mickey Gall in an intriguing welterweight tilt.

Jones has consistently been his own worst enemy in the lead-up to and aftermath of his bouts, but inside the Octagon, he’s the most mercurial and cerebral assassin the mixed martial arts world has ever seen. He reminded all of his greatness in his masterful destruction of Alexander Gustafsson, who had come closest to beating him in an instant classic in 2013 but was shutout in the rematch as “Bones” reclaimed the light heavyweight title in December.

While the reserved Smith getting the next shot at Jones came as somewhat of a surprise in an era dominated by big-name, colourful characters, there’s know denying he earned it the old fashioned way. “Lionheart” has been on an absolute tear since moving up to light heavyweight, brutally knocking out ex-champions Rashad Evans and Shogun Rua before submitting former title challenger Volkan Oezdemir.

It’s worth noting he was the underdog in all of those fights as well, so he’s used to being counted out. A win over Jones, however, would be the biggest upset in UFC history.

Prediction: Jones via second-round TKO.


A Division I wrestler with God-given speed, athleticism and one-punch knockout power, Woodley has evolved into a master tactician since starching Robbie Lawler to claim the welterweight crown three years ago.

With his complete skillset and the tutelage of Din Thomas in particular, Woodley was able to see off specialists in striking phenom Stephen Thompson and Jiu-Jitsu master Demian Maia, and put a beating on much-hyped rising star Darren Till in his most recent title defence in September.

This time around, the “Chosen One” from Ferguson, Missouri finds himself in a mirror match. Usman is riding a remarkable 13-fight win streak, and snatched the title shot from interim champ Colby Covington with a dominant win over former lightweight ruler Rafael Dos Anjos in his last bout.

Woodley is on another level, though. He’s by far the best fighter the “Nigerian Nightmare” has ever come across and has beaten the who’s who in the welterweight division. With both being standout wrestlers, expect a stand-up battle for the most part.

When it comes down to it, Woodley is a better version of Usman and will leave Las Vegas still welterweight champion of the world.

Prediction: Woodley via fourth-round submission.

UFC debuts don’t get any tougher than Lawler, a future Hall of Famer. Such is the challenge that awaits Ben Askren, who has a long, heated history of back-and-forth exchanges with Dana White, that conspiracy theorists see the match-up with “Ruthless” as punishment from the UFC president.

In reality, it speaks to the confidence of “Funky”, who’ll finally enter the Octagon following a ground-breaking trade from ONE Championship for former flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson after years of dominating outside of the UFC universe. Similar to lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov, Askren has amassed a perfect 18-0 record thanks to his next-level wrestling and top-heavy ground game.

As a 2008 Olympian and former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion, Askren’s not the type to be tripped up by UFC jitters that have hampered so many making their promotional debuts in the past.

He’ll be welcomed by the legendary former champ, who returns to his battlefield rejuvenated after spending over a year on the shelf due to a torn ACL. Lawler’s legacy as one of the most violent and exciting fighters of all-time is set, but his thirst for competition…for war…remains unquenched.

It’s no secret that Askren will be aiming to put the lethal Lawler on his back and keep him there for however long it takes to get his hand raised. How will Lawler’s takedown defence hold up against the Olympic-level wrestling of Askren? The two most likely scenarios are a vintage “Ruthless” KO, or, a grinding win for the Funky one.

Prediction: Ben Askren via unanimous decision.

The night’s featured female fight pits an established UFC vet in Torres against a hype train in Zhang. The latter has momentum on her side after submitting former world No. 1 Jessica Aguilar in her last bout, while Torres is coming off back-to-back losses. Those defeats, however, were against Jessica Andrade and most recently, former strawweight queen Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

The “Tiny Tornado” is a rather ironic moniker for Torres, who’s gone to a decision in all but one of her 16 fights, and with the desperation to avoid a third straight loss, she’ll likely to be extra cautious and will utilise her wrestling to cruise to a decision nod.

Prediction: Torres via unanimous decision.


A perfect pay-per-view opener as former champ Garbrandt looks to get his career back on track after successive losses to arch-rival TJ Dillashaw. This means trouble for Munhoz, who as a predominantly Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, will be at a decided disadvantage on the feet. Munhoz has been on a roll, winning six of his last seven, but “No Love” will see this as a statement fight and will use his exceptional footwork and heavy hands to put down the “Young Punisher”.

Prediction: Garbrandt via first-round KO.

This is set to be a barnburner. Knockout artist Stephens had looked on his way toward a title shot before running into Jose Aldo, the Brazilian great stopping him with a wicked body shot. “Lil’ Heathen” has long been guilty of being overaggressive and will have to fight smart if he’s to beat the red-hot Magomedsharipov. The Dagestani has won 12 in a row and looks set to continue his winning streak.

Prediction: Magomedsharipov via third-round submission.

Cirkunov is a big step-up in competition for Walker, who comes in for the injured Ovince Saint Preux on short notice, and will be back in the Octagon a month to the day of his win over Justin Ledet. Eight of Cirkunov’s 12 stoppage wins have come via submission, and I see him making it nine.

Prediction: Cirkunov via second-round submission.


Stamann is another short notice replacement (for Song Yadong) who’ll seek to steal his opponent’s thunder. He’s a strong wrestler who’ll be intent on taking the superior striker down. He won’t necessarily be safe should he get it to the ground, as Perez has five submission wins, but Stamann is wily enough to stay out of trouble.

Prediction: Stamann via unanimous decision.

The legendary Sanchez’s career is winding down, but this is a good stylistic match-up for him. The young Gall is not nearly the striking threat as an Al Iaquinta or a Matt Brown, whose scary knockouts had most calling for Sanchez to hang up his gloves. It won’t be a classic Sanchez slugfest, with Gall set to shoot and hunt for his trademark rear-naked choke, but the veteran isn’t easily tapped out and will pick up a second successive decision win.

Prediction: Sanchez by unanimous decision.

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Quintin Van Jaarsveld is a former MDDA-Sanlam SA Local Sports Journalist of the Year and a former three-time Vodacom KwaZulu-Natal Sports Journalist of the Year. Formerly the sports editor and Outstanding Journalist of the Year award winner at The Fever Media Group, deputy editor at eHowzit, editor at SARugby.com and senior staff writer at Rugby365.com, he boasts over 15 years’ experience and is currently a freelance sports writer.

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