UFC 235: Jones vs Smith is stacked with great fights from the Fight Pass prelims to the main card.
The event will be hosted by the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. It’s is already being considered as one of the biggest events of the year thus far. The card features big names in MMA that are set to take the stage and a main card featuring two championship fights: one at light heavyweight and the other at welterweight.
With such an action packed card, try to not forget about some of the undercard scraps that showcase some fighters who have bright futures ahead of them. Many will look to show off their skill set and talents and others will look to make a name for themselves on the big stage.
We start the night on UFC Fight Pass at 4:30pm MT. The prelims start at 6:00pm MT on ESPN and the pay-per-view at 8:00pm MT.
Take a look at the underrated fights to watch at UFC 235:
The underrated fights to watch at UFC 235
UFC 235 is set to be a huge card with many amazing fights. The card is packed and has a large number of great fights. It's worrisome that some fights may get overshadowed and under the radar due to the star-studded main card. There are two championship fights on the card alone, and plenty of other big names looking to put on great performances. I think there will be no shortage of jaw dropping fights, but what about the fights you were not expecting to "wow" you? We wanted to put together a list of a couple underrated fights to keep your eyes on before the main card kicks off. You definitely do not want to miss this event.
Gina Mazany vs Macy Chiasson
Mazany has had an up-and-down tenure in the UFC as she is 1-2 in her 3 fights, and is 5-2 in her professional career. Chiasson recently won TUF season 28 where she fought at featherweight. Chiasson chose to go down to bantamweight for whatever reason. My assumption is at bantamweight, there is more competition, and she will have an imposing size advantage against most women in the division. Chiasson looks to continue to build hype behind her name, and gain more experience as she is still new to MMA. The bantamweight division should pay attention to this fight, because Chiasson will only get better as she gains more experience. This will be a great platform and opportunity for both fighters to get their name out there and earn some more fans. From what we know of Chiasson, this fight won't go to decision and could get bloody.
Edmen Shahbazyan vs Charles Byrd
Shahbazyan is a young prospect with incredible hype behind him in his short undefeated career. Prior to his UFC debut, he had KOed every opponent he had faced. Shahbazyan has a great striking acumen, and trains at the same gym as none other than Ronda Rousey. Charles Byrd is more experienced than Shahbazyan, and perhaps just by coincidence, both fighters last fight was against Darren Stewart. Shahbazyan came away with the victory, while Byrd did not come away with the win. Byrd likes to keep the fight on the feet, which Shahbazyan is confident, but he will most likely look to take the fight to the ground where he has the advantage. Will the hype continue to rise on this pseudo Sage Northcutt type prospect, or will Byrd derail the hype train before there is an insurmountable amount of momentum behind Shahbazyan?
Diego Sanchez vs Mickey Gall
Shout out to Mickey Gall, I had a chance to meet him at the 25-year anniversary card in Denver last summer. Gall has won all of his fights by rear-naked choke, six fights, five submission wins. You have to be really good at something if you can win repeatedly using the same technique, that means fighters are expecting it, and you are still able to win in that manor. Imagine Ronda Rousey and her armbar, people knew it was coming, but there was nothing you could do to stop it. On the other hand, Sanchez got back on track with a win in his only fight in 2018 after a couple tough losses to some high-level competition. Sanchez is a veteran in the sport of MMA with over 40 career fights, so you definitely don't want to miss this classic matchup.
Misha Cirkunov (#14) vs Johnny Walker (#15)
Cirkunov got back on track with a win in his last bout after tough losses to top-level talent in his only fight in 2018. Cirkunov has shown he can win fights in different ways, and has the ability to take the fight where he wants to. Cirkunov is dangerous at all levels with 5 wins by KO and 7 wins by submission. Where do we begin with Walker? Walker stepped up when Ovince Saint Preux was pulled due to injury and rebooked for UFC 236. Since Walker debuted on DWTNCS, he has dropped jaws repeatedly, and quickly. It took Walker 16 seconds to KO Justin Ledet, and his celebration might have been longer than the fight. Walker is a freak athlete, full of style, charisma, and is fun to watch as he is on an 8-fight win streak, 13 career KOs. Cirkunov will look to put a halt to the hype and fast rising Walker in a light heavyweight division that seems to be getting crowded with talent in the past few months. Walker is one to watch this year, without a doubt.
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