UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones (23-1, 10 KOs, 6 SUBs) will defend his title against Anthony “Lionheart” Smith (31-13, 17 KOs, 11 SUBs) at UFC 235 on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 9pm ET.
Jon Jones is wasting no time getting back to work. Less than three months after stopping Alexander Gustafsson to reclaim the light heavyweight belt, the champion will make the first title of defense of his latest reign against Anthony Smith in March.
By now, we’re fully aware of all of Jones’ stumbles. There were trace amounts of PEDs in his system before the Gustafsson fight - the second time he’s been popped. But the UFC and CSAC has been arguing that the amount found showed that it was residual from his last test, which is why he was allowed to fight in the first place.
Whether you find that justification ridiculous or not, the UFC is moving on. The undefeated (the Hamill DQ doesn’t count in our opinion) Jones now meets a 31-13 challenger. Smith has surged to the top of the division with three straight wins - all by way of finish - most recently submitting Volkan Oezdemir at UFC Fight Night 138 this past October.
According to the UFC odds at BookMaker.eu, it’s not a matchup that Smith is supposed to win. But given that Lionheart is the highest ranked guy that Jones hasn’t faced yet, the UFC is throwing him into the cage to give the champ another opportunity to shine. WME wants to cash in on his stardom while they still can.
Let’s check in with the opening UFC odds in this matchup and get down to a few betting actions you should be looking forward to. Remember, live UFC betting at BookMaker.eu is always available on fight night as well.
UFC 235 Betting at BookMaker.eu
Jon Jones: N/A
Anthony Smith: N/A
Fight goes/doesn’t go to decision: N/A
Significant Striking Stats
Landed per minute: Jones 4.43 / Smith 3.59
Accuracy: Jones 55% / Smith 47%
Absorbed per minute: Jones 2.11 / Smith 4.14
Defense: Jones 65% / Smith 46%
Grappling Stats
Takedown average: Jones 2.09 / Smith 0.58
Accuracy: Jones 48% / Smith 28%
Defense: Jones 95% / Smith 46%
Submission average: Jones 0.6 / Smith 1.0
Bet on Jones vs. Smith at BookMaker.eu
Jones at this price really won’t do much for you as a straight bet. But this might be the best odds you can get on him, as we really don’t think there are too many people out there who really believe that the relatively unheralded Smith can pull off the upset here. If you’re going to take Jones to win, it’s only worth it as a parlay booster, which means you’ll have to pair it with another bet and then wait until fight night to cash in.
The fact that Smith is challenging Jones at all is more a testament to how shallow 205 pounds is. Though he lost to Thiago Santos, wins over ancient fighters in Rashad Evans and Mauricio Rua earned him a high profile fight against Volkan Oezdemir. In that fight, Smith got bruised up for two rounds before calmly taking down the Swede and locking in a choke in the resulting panic.
Against an elite striker in Jones, the fact that Smith couldn’t hang with Oezdemir’s hands is a damning one. Then there’s his poor takedown defense - it seems like Jones should be able to take him down at will and win the fight on the mat if need be. This is a showcase fight for Jones, and that’s reflected in the online UFC sportsbooks.
Early Betting for UFC 235
Either parlay Jones now or wait for the UFC prop bets at BookMaker.eu. For our money, we’d keep an eye out for Jones inside the distance, Jones by TKO or Jones by submission. If Jones inside the distance offers an underdog payout, than that’s your value play. The other props really depend on the price. We’ll have an in-depth preview that considers all these bets during fight week, so stay tuned.
Bet on UFC 235 odds at BookMaker.eu
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook Real-time spreads, totals, props and money line are all available so start betting with BookMaker today. UFC 235 takes place on Saturday, March 2, 2019 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The main card airs live on pay-per-view starting 9pm ET.
