March 2’s UFC 235 from Las Vegas is beginning to take shape in major ways. News broke early this morning that light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will take on Anthony Smith in the main event. Now, a second title fight has been added.
ESPN’s Ariel Helwani reported that welterweight champion Tyron Woodley will meet surging contender Kamaru Usman at UFC 235:
The confusing UFC welterweight title picture has been a hot topic in MMA for weeks now. It was expected that Woodley would face former interim champion Colby Covington next. A heated social media battle ensued as a result.
But the UFC ultimately chose to go with Usman over Covington based on his recent win over Rafael dos Anjos and his willingness to fight anyone in January:
Usman and his management have been flaunting a signed contract to fight Woodley online for some time. While Woodley claimed that he would fight both in 2019, he said he would face Covington first. The opposite appears true for the champ, who is returning from thumb surgery.
Woodley vs. Usman, as Helwani noted, is a done deal unlike UFC 235’s reported headliner between Jones and Smith. Jones still has to appear before the NSAC in order to be licensed due to his ‘atypical findings’ in recent drug tests that forced UFC 232 to be moved from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.
The post Breaking: Tyron Woodley vs. Kamaru Usman Set For UFC 235 appeared first on LowKickMMA.com.