Light-heavyweights Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier will go for UFC title glory on Saturday at UFC 187, which takes place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas.
Cormier stepped up as a replacement when his latest conqueror, Jon Jones, was stunningly stripped of the title – and suspended from the UFC – after being named as a suspect in a hit-and-run incident.
Indeed, after Jones rubbed his UFC 182 victory in his rival’s face, Cormier will hope for a dose of poetic justice. Careful what you wish for, Jon.
American Kickboxing Academy’s Cormier is an excellent wrestler, highlighted last May against Dan Henderson, while he also holds wins at heavyweight over naturally bigger men in Roy Nelson, Josh Barnett and Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva.
And speaking of weight discrepancies, it’s incredible to think that Johnson struggled down to 170lbs until 2012. Having missed the limit twice, he was cut by the UFC three years ago but returned to school Phil Davis last April, before smashing past Antonio Rogerio Nogueira inside a round three months later. If that wasn’t enough, he looked devastating when destroying Alex Gustafsson on the feet in round one in January.
With his six–inch reach advantage and greater one-punch knockout power, Johnson should start as the favourite. If he does come through, his redemption would be one of most unlikely, and indeed uplifting stories in the history of mixed martial arts.
Will he be able to take his fellow challenger down though? It’s an interesting question, and Cormier could grind his man up against the cage for five rounds. Overall, UFC 187 is one of the best bills in recent memory – after all, seven of the ten main card fighters have competed in UFC or WEC title bouts in the past.
In the UFC 187 co-main event, middleweight champion Chris Weidman defends his gold against Vitor Belfort. Weidman, an NCAA Division 1 star, holds two stoppages over Anderson Silva, and dug deep to outpoint Lyoto Machida last July. His ground-and-pound is ruthless, while his rapid improvement can be attributed to the shrewd coaching of Ray Longo and Matt Serra.
Unlike the titlist who has learned the ropes on the big stage, Belfort is a veteran who first fought in the UFC in 1997. A judo black belt with wins spanning from Tank Abbott to Randy Couture, and Rich Franklin to Luke Rockhold, the Brazilian has recently evolved into one of the sport’s most diverse, deadly strikers.
The outset could be a case of Weidman probing with the jab and overhand rights, with Belfort attacking to the body. Weidman can be susceptible to leaving his hands down, but with the input of Longo and Serra he has passed every test yet, and there’s no reason to think he won’t do so again. Expect Weidman to grind out a unanimous decision.
One man not overly interested in decisions is lightweight Donald Cerrone, who faces John Makdessi. A student at Jackson-Winkeljohn, Cerrone is an excellent Muay Thai practitioner with victories over Eddie Alvarez, Miles Jury and Benson Henderson among others.
Credit should go to Makdessi, who stepped in late to replace the injured Khabib Nurmagomedov. He’ll start as an underdog, for sure, but will be confident having roared through Shane Campbell in 35 seconds at UFC 186 in April. John will endure some precarious moments, perhaps coming through two rounds before losing by submission. In the same division Islam Makhachev and Leo Kuntz will meet on Fight Pass prelims.
Rounding off the UFC 187 main card is another Jackson-Winkeljohns stand-out, heavyweight Travis Browne, who takes on Andrei Arlovski. With a spring in his step Browne throws strikes from unconventional angles and attacks the body well. If he can tag Arlovski early, “Hapa” could cause a particularly violent stoppage.
That match-up comes after flyweights Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga – both victims of long-time world champion Demetrious Johnson. Technically speaking, Benavidez is one of the soundest fighters on the planet with no real weaknesses. His guillotine chokes are dangerous and he should be able to finish Moraga by tapout or indeed knockout. Also at 125lbs, John Dodson and Zach Makovsky will trade blows as the preliminary’s headline.
The other prelim appetisers are interesting too, with Dong Hyun Kim getting a rare chance to impress against Josh Burkman at welterweight, and Urijah Hall going in against Rafael Natal. Can middleweight Hall reproduce the fireworks he showed during The Ultimate Fighter 17? We’ll have to wait and see.
The exciting striker Rose Namajunas – probably one of the more well-rounded women’s strawweight fighters – faces off with Nina Ansaroff, while the Fight Pass offering is completed by 170lbs contenders Mike Pyle and Colby Covington, and a flyweight scrap between Justin Scoggins and Josh Sampo.
by Alistair Hendrie
