Jon Jones was set to headline this fantastic event, but he is serving an indefinite suspension for his out-of-cage events. Fear not, fight fans. UFC 187 remains spectacular.
Jones did not make this fight card. Although his exclusion casts a shadow over the main event, the UFC built this to be a stacked card without him.
From top to bottom, UFC 187 delivers. The Fight Pass prelims are great, the Fox Sports 1 prelims are stacked and the main card may be the best main card slate you will see in 2015. This is a monster of an event. It was structured magnificently.
The Fight Pass prelims kick off with a stellar flyweight bout between Justin Scoggins and Josh Sampo. It follows with undefeated prospect Islam Makhachev’s company debut before moving onto its final contest between noted veteran Mike Pyle vs. Colby Covington.
The Fox Sports 1 prelims get underway with the first of the 13 top-10 ranked fighters. No. 4-ranked strawweight contender Rose Namajunas steps into the cage against Nina Ansaroff. This will be the first time Namajunas steps in the cage since failing to win The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 finale against Carla Esparza.
The entertaining prelims continue along with Uriah Hall vs. Rafael Natal and No. 8-ranked welterweight Dong Hyun Kim vs. Josh Burkman. The featured prelim of the night belongs to No. 9-ranked flyweight Zach Makovsky and No. 1-ranked John Dodson in what could be a title eliminator.
If you’re counting along, that’s four top-10 ranked fighters before the main card hits, meaning all but one of the main card combatants is a top-10 fighter.
The main card starts in the flyweight division. No. 5-ranked John Moraga will try to upend No. 2-ranked Joseph Benavidez. The fight holds a lot of weight in the division not just because of their high rankings, but because top-ranked contender Dodson is fighting just prior. How these two battles play out will go a long way in determining who challenges Demetrious Johnson.
The opposite end of the spectrum follows the flyweights as No. 8-ranked heavyweight Andrei Arlovski squares off against No. 3-ranked Travis Browne in another bout with substantial title implications.
The lone bout that does not feature two top-10 fighters is in the lightweight division. No. 2-ranked Khabib Nurmagomedov was forced off the card with an injury, and John Makdessi accepted the fight on short notice. No. 3-ranked Donald Cerrone will stand opposite the cage. Oddly enough, Nurmagomedov is on record as saying Cerrone deserves the next title shot if he wins this weekend.
All of that incredible action builds to the two title tilts.
No. 3-ranked middleweight Vitor Belfort challenges Chris Weidman for the middleweight crown, and No. 3-ranked light heavyweight Daniel Cormier meets No. 1-ranked Anthony Johnson for the vacant 205-pound title.
Jones does leave a hole on this card, but it is a small one given how deep this fight card is.
13 top-10 ranked fighters on a single fight card is astonishing. It is a credit to the UFC for stacking this card with elite talent. Moreover, putting them in bouts either for the gold or for opportunities to earn title shots only deepens the intrigue into their respective matchups. UFC 187 is the fight event of the year thus far. Saturday evening is a time to post up in front of the television, order the event and enjoy the high-level action from start to finish.
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