Between going to SUP on Sunday and having a bit of a chaotic start to the week, it’s taken a little extra time to get this recap in. It’s all good though. Just pretend I’ve been hungover and we’ll move right along.
UFC 235 took place this past Saturday in Vegas and we have a lot to talk about. It felt like it could be a changing of the guard kind of night. Both title matches featured match ups that looked downright tasty on paper, though the final product may not have been as feeling as fans wanted. Still, there is plenty of meat on the bone coming out of the card. So, let’s dive right in.
Kamaru Usman Smashes Tyron Woodley: I mean, that’s it. That’s all that happened. For 25 minutes, Usman took the fight to Tyron with little to no fight back. This was about as dominant a performance as it gets. Post fight, Kamaru got into it with Colby Covington in the arena, then later at like…a casino. I know Tyron will want an immediate rematch, but I just don’t see the point after that performance. The problem is Tyron has wiped out every contender not named Colby Covington. So, he’s almost in fight purgatory.
Jon Jones Cruises to Another Title Defense: Anthony Smith is a badass and it just didn’t matter. Jones ate Smith up en route to a decision victory, but not without controversy. It’s another fight that Jones has had an illegal blow nearly cost him. Super proud of Smith for not taking the easy way out, though that’s not his style at all, after eating an illegal knee to the head while he was down. When the final decision was read, I totally expected Bones Jones to announce a possible move to heavyweight. But, he was pretty mum on his plans. He did say he wanted to fight four times this year which is a hell of a goal, especially with the list of killers that are wanting a crack at him.
Ben Askren “beat” Robbie Lawler: The most talked about fight of the night. For only lasting three minutes and twenty seconds, A LOT happened here. Right away, Ben looked to wrestle Robbie, shocker I know, only for Ruthless Robbie Lawler to full on body slam Askren. Lawler started landing big shots with Herb Dean hovering, looking like he was about to stop the onslaught. Instead, Ben fought back before eventually catching Robbie in a headlock. From here on, what happened is anyone’s guess.
Some say Robbie went out, then came to after Herb stepped in. Others on Twitter posted pictures that appeared to show Robbie with a thumbs up. I don’t think Robbie was out. But, the way his arm seems to go limp, I’m not sure what else Herb was supposed to do. It sounds like this one will be run back if Uncle Dana has anything to say about it, though I don’t think Askren wants any part of a rematch. Herb could have easily stepped in when Robbie was smacking Funky around on the ground, which would have quickly ended his run to a UFC title. Very interested to see what happens with these two.
Pedro Munhoz Knocked Cody No Love the Fuck Out: I really, really, really like Cody Garbrandt so this was hard to watch. I mean it was an absolute slugfest. But, for the third consecutive fight, my guy has ate an opponent’s power hook en route to a loss. Cody is still so young, but it feels like it may be time for some kind of change. On the flip side, Pedro is on a real roll. He’s won seven of his last eight fights with five wins coming by way of a finish. I feel like he may still be a win away from a title shot. But after this performance against the #2 ranked bantamweight, he may be knocking at Dillashaw’s door soon.
Johnny Walker is a Star: If it wasn’t for Ben/Robbie, this fight may have been the talk of the card. Johnny gets the TKO victory over Misha Cirkunov in 36 seconds after an absolute perfect flying knee. Walker proceeded to separate his shoulder doing ‘The Worm’ in his post fight celebration. The good news is Johnny may have a big boy fight as soon as he’s healthy as rumors are swirling he could fight Alexander Gustafson this summer.
Diego Sanchez is Forever a Savage: Y’all know Diego is the only fighter from TUF 1 that’s still in the game? Think about that for a second. He’s out here beating the brakes off an up and coming prospect like Mickey Gall. This was a clinic put on by Diego. Mickey was dog tired halfway through the first round! The second round didn’t go any better as Diego kept the pace up before securing the TKO win late in the second. I’m not sure Diego has a title run left in him. But, this kind of performance shows the kind of fighter he is. A certified legend.
Other thoughts: Weili Zhang beat up Tecia Torres, pushing her record to 19-1 and gets her closer to becoming the first Chinese UFC champion in history. Zabit Magomedsharipov squeaked out a decision victory over a very game Jeremy Stephens. This wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Zabit look a bit winded in the later rounds. Edmen Shahbazyan and Macy Chiasson had impressive TKO victories on the early prelims.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor Follow on Twitter: @SoBroMose.
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