UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones cruised to an easy victory over Anthony Smith and Kamaru Usman became the first African-born champion as he defeated Tyrone Woodley for the welterweight title at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Smith lived up to his "Lionheart" nickname, surviving five gruelling five-minute rounds against one of the most dominant fighters of all time, but the judges gave the reigning champion a comprehensive victory at UFC 235.
The 31-year-old New Yorker controlled the fight from start to finish, using a dizzying array of kicks to control the distance and out-wrestling Smith against the fence.
The only risk to Jones came in the closing seconds of the fourth round when he landed an illegal left knee to the head of Smith, who had one hand on the ground.
The challenger would have been awarded a win by disqualification if he told the referee he was unable to continue, but he fought on before ultimately dropping the decision.
READ: Former ONE superstar Ben Askren makes impressive debut at UFC 235
"I wanted to win it, I didn't want to steal it," Smith said in the cage.
Nigerian-born Kamaru Usman dominated the co-main event, backing Woodley up against the fence and ripping dozens of thunderous shots to the body, and then taking his opponent to the mat at will.
Known for his tactical acumen in the cage, Woodley never had the time or space to use it as Usman swarmed all over him from the opening bell.
Despite Usman's dominance and a late fourth-round flurry that rocked Woodley badly, the fight was decided on the judges' scorecards 50-44, 50-44 and 50-45 to crown the first African-born UFC champion.
The much-anticipated UFC debut of former Bellator and ONE FC welterweight champ Ben Askren ended in controversy when referee Herb Dean stopped the fight in the first round, judging Robbie Lawler to have lost consciousness in a bulldog choke.
Lawler, himself a former UFC welterweight champion, immediately protested but to no avail, allowing Askren to maintain his unbeaten MMA record.
Reuters
Sun Mar 03 2019
Kamaru Usman celebrates after his win against Tyron Woodley in a welterweight mixed martial arts title fight at UFC 235, Saturday, March 2, 2019, in Las Vegas. - AP Photo/John Locher
KKR, CIDB zahir hasrat hantar pekerja ke Nagasaki teroka kemahiran TVET
KKR menerusi agensinya Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan Malaysia (CIDB) berhasrat memulakan penghantaran pekerja ke Nagasaki, Jepun menjelang suku keempat tahun ini.
Piala Thomas: Leong Jun Hao lakar kebangkitan, pastikan kemenangan Malaysia!
Leong Jun Hao melakar kebangkitan memastikan Malaysia memperoleh kemenangan ke atas wakil Hong Kong, Angus Ng Ka Long.
1MDB: Prosiding Najib julung kali dibuat pada Sabtu
Perbicaraan pertama dibuat pada hujung minggu ini berlangsung tepat jam 8.30 pagi, selepas bekas Perdana Menteri itu dibawa pihak berkuasa dengan menaiki kenderaan dari Jabatan Penjara.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu: Kerajaan Perpaduan akan dibebani isu semasa - Muhyiddin
PRK ini bakal jadi referendum untuk rakyat suarakan pandangan yang disifatkan Muhyiddin sebagai perasaan tidak puas hati.
Pelajar PhD USIM ambil ujian di sebalik runtuhan di Gaza
Pelajar PhD USIM warga Palestin nekad menjalani Ujian Kelayakan yang dijalankan secara dalam talian pada Jumaat walaupun berdepan risiko dibom tentera Zionis pada bila-bila masa.
UMNO dan BN dokong calon PH demi Kerajaan Perpaduan - Ahmad Zahid
Presiden UMNOsedar taktik pihak tertentu yang cuba melaga-lagakan parti pimpinannya dengan parti komponen Pakatan Harapan itu.
PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu saksikan pertandingan empat penjuru
Keempat-empat calon itu ialah Khairul Azhari Saut (PN), Pang Sock Tao (PH), Nyau Ke Xin (Bebas) dan Hafizah Zainudin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).
3 maut, 5 parah nahas dua pacuan empat roda
Tiga maut, lima parah dalam kemalangan membabitkan dua kenderaan pacuan empat roda di Jalan Kuala Krai-Gua Musang kira-kira jam 12.30 pagi tadi.
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin di Paris kepung universiti
Penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin mengepung bangunan dan kawasan hadpaan Universiti Sciences Po yang berprestij di Paris pada Jumaat.
Piala Thomas: Zii Jia pamer magis tarik perhatian ramai di Chengdu
Zii Jia merekodkan kemenangan ke atas Lee Cheuk Yiu dalam aksi yang mengambil masa 45 minit menghadirkan saat-saat terbaik dalam saingan pembukaan ini.