Jon Jones Says UFC 235 Betting Odds ‘Are Very Dangerous Position’
It’s no surprise that light heavyweight champ Jon Jones is a massive betting favorite over Anthony Smith in the main event of next month’s (Sat., March 2, 2019) UFC 235 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“Bones” is favored as high as a lofty 13-to-1 according to some sportsbooks. Those odds are nearing a record divide for a UFC title fight. It could be argued that Jones is the most dominant UFC athlete of all-time. Jones’ only UFC loss came via disqualification for illegal elbows back in 2009. Other than that he’s been peerless, dominating all comers on his way to setting records at light heavyweight. He’d most certainly be the greatest fighter in MMA history if not for his many outside-the-cage troubles.
Smith’s trajectory towards a UFC title is the opposite of Jones’. He’s lost 13 fights in his nearly 11-year MMA career. Those numbers only tell half of the story, however, as Smith has won 14 out of his last 16 bouts. He’s looked especially dangerous up at 205, finishing Rashad Evans, Shogun Rua, and Volkan Oezdemir to earn a light heavyweight title shot.
Record Favorite
“Lionheart” will now meet his toughest test by far. He’s justifiably a huge underdog, but Jones isn’t taking him lightly. “Bones” recently offered his view on the betting odds during last week’s UFC 235 press conference. To Jones, the odds are nice, but it’s a strange spot to be in. He’s not going to let the numbers sway his focus because he knows he has a dangerous foe ahead of him (via MMAjunkie):
“It’s flattering, but at the end of the
Still Young In The Game
“Lionheart” is absolutely a knockout striker who can end any bout with one game-changing strike. We’ve hardly seen Jones get hit cleanly, however, and he’s also fought sparingly the last few years. So while he’s a longtime veteran of the sport like Smith, “Bones” believes he’s still very young in the game overall:
“Where I’m a veteran I feel very young in the game still,” Jones said. “I feel very luck to have never been knocked out, never been dropped in practice. I believe my brain is extremely healthy. You can only take so many punches in your career and I’ve never taken any real big shots from anyone.”
It’s true Jones hasn’t taken too much damage over the course of his decorated fighting career. The closest thing to it was his 2013 classic with Alexander Gustafsson where he was forced to dig deep and come back from an early deficit.
Jones righted those wrongs by implementing a much smarter strategy in his rematch with Gustafsson at December’s UFC 232. Now, his new reign will kick off against Smith, and he’s a record favorite. But the champ knows that everyone is dangerous at this level and will prepare for “Lionheart” accordingly.
We may be witnessing a new era featuring a somewhat wiser and more mature Jones, and that’s a scary thought for the light heavyweight division.
