UFC 187 Official Poster (Photo : Twitter)
In the wake of Jon Jones hit-and-run incident and the eventual stripping of his light heavyweight belt, UFC president Dana White came up right away with an explosive pairing MMA fans would surely not complain.
At UFC 187, light heavyweight contenders Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson and Daniel Cormier will square it off for the vacant championship belt at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Johnson (19-4), who is on a 9-match winning streak, earned a shot at the light heavyweight crown after stunning favorite Alexander Gustafsson of Sweden in their championship eliminator last January 24. This UFC title opportunity has been a long time coming for Johnson, who has a see-saw career joining the promotion in 2007.
Meanwhile, Cormier is coming off a gallant defeat at the hands of Jones at UFC 182 last January 3. The former Olympic wrestler stood his ground against the best striker in the game, but Jones' length and height advantage was too much for him to contain, dropping his first match in 16 fights via unanimous decision.
Acting as the night's co-main event is the slugfest between UFC 12 tournament champ and former light heavyweight champ Vitor Belfort and reigning title-holder Chris Weidman.
Their showdown was originally scheduled to happen last year due to a ban imposed on Belfort by the Nevada State Athletic Commission for testosterone replacement therapy and hand and rib injuries sustained by Weidman prior to UFC 181 and 184.
However, bad blood between the two ring gladiators is still very apparent as Weidman's camp called Belfort a cheater because of his history of taking illegal substance such as steroids and testosterone.
Live Stream, Blow-by-Blow Update, Compubox Stats & Results:
Live Stream of UFC 187 is available on UFC Pay-per-View and UFC TV. The bouts can be watched internationally on Sports Streaming, while blow-by-blow, updates, Compubox stats, and results is available on UFC Twitter account.
