On the same day the UFC announced its plans to invest millions into more thorough drug testing and a welterweight title fight featuring Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler, the organization also announced a stacked UFC 187 lineup.
A light-heavyweight title fight between Jon Jones and Anthony Johnson is the main event, while Chris Weidman will look to defend his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort in the co-headliner.
The pay-per-view event takes place on May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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Not only is Jones (21-1) coming off a unanimous decision win over Daniel Cormier at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, he is looking to bounce back from a string of controversies that stemmed from a failed drug test. Jones was fined $25,000 in January by the UFC for violating its Athlete Code of Conduct policy after testing positive for cocaine during an out-of-competition drug test conducted by the Nevada Athletic Commission in December. The 27-year-old has defended his 205-pound belt eight consecutive times.
Johnson (19-4) is coming off a first-round TKO win over Alexander Gustafsson on Jan. 24 to extend his overall winning streak to nine. The former welterweight standout is 7-0 in the light-heavyweight division and is viewed as Jones’s last true test in a division the champion has essentially cleaned out from top to bottom.
Weidman (12-0) has fought just twice since knocking out Anderson Silva in the summer of 2013 to win the title. His last fight was a unanimous decision win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 175 last July and his matchup with Belfort (24-10) has been rescheduled a number of times due to a handful of Weidman injuries. Belfort is riding a three-fight winning streak, but hasn’t competed since he KO’d Dan Henderson on Nov. 9, 2013.
Also added to the card was a lightweight tilt between unbeaten Khabib Nurmagomedov and fan favourite Donald Cerrone. Nurmagomedov (22-0) has spent the last several months recovering from knee surgery. The Russian’s most recent fight was a dominant decision win over current No. 1 contender Rafael dos Anjos last April. Cerrone, meanwhile, squeaked out a controversial decision win over Benson Henderson on Jan. 18 in Boston to extend his winning streak to seven.
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A heavyweight bout between Travis Browne and former champion Andrei Arlovski, a flyweight tilt between previous title challengers Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga, plus a scrap between lightweight newcomers Islam Makhachev and Leo Kuntz were also made official.
Here is a look at the UFC 187 fight card to date:
— Jon Jones vs. Anthony Johnson
— Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort
— Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Donald Cerrone
— Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski
— Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga
— Islam Makhachev vs. Leo Kuntz
