| UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | May 23, 2015 (2015-05-23) | |||
| Venue | MGM Grand Garden Arena | |||
| City | Las Vegas,Nevada | |||
| Attendance | 12,615[1] | |||
| Total gate | $5,189,623[2] | |||
| Buyrate | 375,000[3] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier was amixed martial arts event held on May 23, 2015, at theMGM Grand Garden Arena inLas Vegas, Nevada.[4]
The event was expected to be headlined by aUFC Light Heavyweight Championship bout between then championJon Jones and top contenderAnthony Johnson.[4][5] However, on April 28, following Jones' hit-and-run incident (see section below), the UFC decided to strip him of the title and suspend him indefinitely. He was replaced by the previous title challengerDaniel Cormier, who was scheduled to faceRyan Bader in the main event ofUFC Fight Night 68.[6]
The co-main event featured aUFC Middleweight Championship bout between current championChris Weidman and formerUFC Light Heavyweight champion andUFC 12 Heavyweight Tournament winnerVitor Belfort. The much delayed pairing had been rescheduled for several events. The first of which wasUFC 173, where Belfort withdrew from the bout following theNevada State Athletic Commission's ban ontestosterone replacement therapy. The other events wereUFC 181 andUFC 184, where Weidman withdrew from both bouts because of a broken hand and injured ribs, respectively.[4]
The event was also expected to feature aUFC Lightweight Championship title eliminator bout between top contendersKhabib Nurmagomedov andDonald Cerrone.[7] However, Nurmagomedov pulled out of the bout on April 30 because of a knee injury. He was replaced byJohn Makdessi.[8]
Sean Spencer was expected to faceMike Pyle at the event. However, Spencer pulled out of the bout on April 23 because of an injury.[9] He was replaced byColby Covington.[10]
Nina Ansaroff missed weight on her first attempt at the weigh-ins, coming in 4 lb overweight at 120 lb. After having made no attempts to cut further, she was fined 20 percent of her fight purse, which went toRose Namajunas.[11] However, on the day of the event, Ansaroff pulled out of the bout after contracting a case of the flu. As a result, the fight was pulled from the event entirely.[12]
During the Fox Sports 1 preliminary card broadcast, the UFC announced thatB.J. Penn,Bas Rutten and the lateJeff Blatnick would be inducted to the UFC's revamped Hall of Fame at the "International Fight Week" in July, surroundingUFC 189.[13][14]
On April 26, it was rumored that Jones was forced out of the event. After several rumors regarding the cause of Jones' possible removal, it was later reported by MMAFighting that Jones was being sought for questioning in ahit-and-run car accident inAlbuquerque, New Mexico, where he lives. At the time, the case was under investigation and theAlbuquerque Police Department wanted to speak with Jones regarding the matter. According to Albuquerque PD spokesman Simon Drobik, Jones was named as a suspect, but he had yet to be reached by anyone.[15] The UFC stated that they were aware of APD's interest in speaking to Jones and they were "in the process of gathering facts and will reserve further comment until more information was available."[16]
On the following day, new information came out that Jones allegedly fled the scene of the accident before turning back to grab "a large handful of cash," according to a police report. An officer on the scene searched the car that allegedly ran a red light and caused the accident early Sunday morning, and stated he found documents identifying Jones. The officer also found a marijuanapipe andmarijuana inside the rented vehicle.[17] Jones' case was being investigated as amisdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and fines. However the victim, a pregnant woman, suffered a broken bone and now Jones faces afelony charge, which carries jail time of up to three years, as well as fines.[18] An arrest warrant for the fighter was issued and Jones eventually turned himself in, after his lawyer arranged the plans for his surrender.[19][20] Just hours later, Jones posted the $2,500 bail and left theBernalillo County Metro Detention Center on Monday night.[21] On April 28, the UFC announced that Jones was stripped of his belt and suspended indefinitely due to his alleged involvement.[6]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Light Heavyweight | Daniel Cormier | def. | Anthony Johnson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 3 | 2:39 | [a] |
| Middleweight | Chris Weidman (c) | def. | Vitor Belfort | TKO (punches) | 1 | 2:53 | [b] |
| Lightweight | Donald Cerrone | def. | John Makdessi | TKO (head kick) | 2 | 4:44 | |
| Heavyweight | Andrei Arlovski | def. | Travis Browne | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:41 | |
| Flyweight | Joseph Benavidez | def. | John Moraga | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Flyweight | John Dodson | def. | Zach Makovsky | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Dong Hyun Kim | def. | Josh Burkman | Submission (arm-triangle choke) | 3 | 2:13 | |
| Middleweight | Rafael Natal | def. | Uriah Hall | Decision (split) (29–28, 28–29, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Welterweight | Colby Covington | def. | Mike Pyle | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Lightweight | Islam Makhachev | def. | Leo Kuntz | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 2:38 | |
| Flyweight | Justin Scoggins | def. | Josh Sampo | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[23]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theNevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[24]
