UFC Welterweight Colby Covington isn't on the UFC 235 card, but that hasn't stopped in from causing a scene in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday's PPV event. One of the most talked about up and coming fighters, Zabit Magomedsharipov, is fighting a UFC veteran and long-time top-ranked featherweight Jeremy Stephens. Garbrandt is fighting for the first time since losing back-to-back bouts against rival T.J. Dillashaw. At some point, superfights stop feeling so super when it feels like they're happening every couple of months.
Victory over Cirkunov would propel Walker into the pack of contenders in the UFC's 205-pound light-heavyweight division.
The event is headlined by the fight for the light heavyweight championship between Jon Jones (23-1) and Anthony Smith (31-13). The odds on this fight tend to lean heavily towards the champion, with most people counting out Smith to pose a threat.
"I think that every matchup is different", Smith said. Tune in Saturday night, live on PPV to catch what is likely to be the best card fans will see all year. "We'll see a fun, striking battle for three rounds".
Torres will provide the sternest test of Zhang's career but I think Zhang's physicality and more punishing strikes will be the decider.
The question is going to be whether it sells.
"To get that belt against Alexander Gustafsson and to do it without having to go to the hospital this time or without a black eye, it felt really good", Jones told the UFC in a pre-fight interview. He may even be a "nightmare", if I may.
Either way, keep your eyes glued to social media over the next few weeks - because we could have a decision one way or the other pretty soon.
"When this thing happened, I think it hit everybody by surprise, because who the hell would have thought a trade would have ever happened?" The ratings for the first couple broadcasts of their new TV deal with ESPN have been better than anyone honestly expected, so the company is in good shape right now.
Smith did not have the greatest start to 2018, losing by second-round TKO against Thiago Santos, but he turned it around in his next three fights.
"Yeah, it's satisfying", Jones said.
Askren entered a state of semi-retirement after beating the legendary Shinya Aoki in November of 2017 and made it perfectly clear that he would only return if he was getting an opportunity to face the best welterweight in the world. He was supposed to be the future, after all, only for the game to carry on without him because of his inability to get out of his own way. Woodley is known for focusing on countering opponents rather than pushing the action, which could result in a bit of a chess match between him and Usman as the two men look to get to the mat in an advantageous position.
When asked after the fight why he didn't take the win by disqualification, Smith said: "I could've sat there and taken the DQ win".
What do you make of Jon Jones' theory on fans wanting him to move up to the heavyweight division? He is up against one of the best grapplers in all of mixed martial arts so he should keep kicks to a minimum and those that he does throw should be aimed at the calf, so as to make it more hard to be caught by Askren.
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