UFC 187 kicks off what promises to be a scorching hot summer of mixed martial arts action.
On May 23, the UFC will treat fight fans to its own version of a box-office blockbuster, as the MGM Grand Garden Arena hosts two title fights and a plethora of other high-profile bouts.
Atop the pay-per-view card sits a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and challenger Anthony Johnson. In the co-main event of the evening, middleweight titleholder Chris Weidman makes his long-awaited title defense against No. 1 contender Vitor Belfort.
The fun doesn’t stop there. From top to bottom, UFC 187 is stacked with thrilling contests, featuring contenders in a multitude of weight classes. Donald Cerrone is in action against the undefeated Khabib Nurmagomedov, while former flyweight title challengers Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga go head-to-head.
Memorial Day Weekend cannot come soon enough.
Rumble looks to break Bones
Bones and Rumble are fresh off January victories over Daniel Cormier and Alexander Gustafsson, respectively. Both fighters are on long win streaks (Jones has won 12 in a row, while Johnson has won nine) and are two of the strongest light heavyweights in the UFC.
Johnson has been unstoppable since his UFC return in April, dispatching both Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Gustafsson by TKO. His win over The Mauler at UFC on Fox 14 was particularly telling, as he became the first fighter to finish the Swede with strikes.
Jones will attempt to make the ninth title defense of his career against his most volatile opponent yet in the wake of a failed UFC 182 pre-fight drug test. The champion has a more methodical approach to his striking than that of his counterpart Johnson.
Jones’ chin has been tested in the past, and it will be interesting to see how it holds up against Johnson’s one-punch power.
Weidman defends middleweight title against The Phenom
After multiple injuries and a failed drug test deprived us from witnessing a great middleweight matchup, Weidman and The Phenom are finally set to square off in the cage.
The undefeated Weidman is a well-rounded mixed martial artist who most recently defended his title against Lyoto Machida at UFC 175. Injuries have taken a toll on him since then, forcing him out of two previously scheduled meetings with Belfort.
Belfort hasn’t competed in the cage since a November 2013 knockout of Dan Henderson. The stoppage of Henderson marked the third-straight win via head kick for the 37-year-old.
After Weidman pulled out of their UFC 184 main event, the Brazilian added fuel to the fire by asserting that Weidman should be stripped of his championship. With bad blood brewing, I’d expect these two to get after it right from the opening bell.
The Eagle flies the coop to feast on Cowboy
The Eagle makes his Octagon return following a July knee surgery against the No. 3-ranked lightweight Cerrone in a bout that will likely determine the division’s next No. 1 contender.
The Dagestani grappler is a winner of 22 straight fights. Nurmagomedov last defeated current No. 1 contender Rafael dos Anjos via unanimous decision in April.
The 26-year-old holds top ranks in several grappling disciplines and registered the most takedowns in a UFC fight with 21 against Abel Trujillo.
Cowboy is on an equally impressive winning streak and picked up the biggest victory of his career when he bested Benson Henderson via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 59. The Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA fighter is a prolific kickboxer and an underrated Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner.
Will Cerrone’s takedown defense stand up to the Russian’s pressure, or will The Eagle become flustered by Cowboy’s lethal kicks? We will find out May 23.
Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski
Two hard-hitting heavyweights go to war when Hapa looks to take out The Pit Bull.
Browne tallied his sixth first-round finish when he floored Brendan Schaub at UFC 181. The 32-year-old has one of the best stand-up games in the division and has previously knocked out Josh Barnett and Alistair Overeem.
The former UFC heavyweight champion Arlovski is 2-0 in his latest Octagon stint and shut down Antonio Silva with strikes in September. He also has a knack for the knockout, boasting 16 career wins by the method.
Arlovski has fought some of MMA’s biggest names over the course of his 15-year career. Unfortunately, that has also led to seven knockout losses. Comparatively, the Hawaiian has only been on the fight scene for six years.
It’s new school versus old school when these two meet in Sin City.
The Magician and Fun Size aim to put on a show for the Las Vegas crowd
The Magician will enter the Octagon for the first time after going under the knife to repair a torn ACL in July. Dodson, a former flyweight title challenger, looks to reclaim his No. 1 contender spot with a win over the surging Zach Makovsky.
The 30-year-old Dodson is a dynamic striker with knockout power. He holds bone-crunching stoppages over flyweight contenders John Moraga and Jussier Formiga.
Makovsky is an up-and-coming flyweight who most recently defeated Tim Elliott via unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night 60. The former NCAA Division I wrestler is a takedown machine. He averages close to five per fight, according to FightMetric.
Dodson is a serious step up in competition for a fighter who previously lost a decision to Formiga in August. However, The Magician will be coming off a major surgery, which could impact his speed and offense.
Catch him if you can, Makovsky.
In addition to these tantalizing tussles, you can find frenetic flyweights Joseph Benavidez and Moraga facing off for position in the wide-open 125-pound rankings.
Benavidez is on a two-fight winning streak and has only lost to champ Demetrious Johnson thus far in his UFC career. Moraga is also a winner of two straight fights and has only lost to “Mighty Mouse” and Dodson.
In the lone women’s bout, The Ultimate Fighter Season 20 runner-up Rose Namajunas squares off with Nina Ansaroff. Thug is an intense stand-up fighter who is also a submission threat. The Strina is seeking her first Octagon win after dropping a unanimous decision in her debut to one-time Invicta FC competitor Juliana Lima.
The UFC also announced Dong Hyun Kim vs. Josh Burkman and Uriah “Primetime” Hall vs. Rafael Natal this week.
UFC 187 is the must-see event of the year. Rarely are fans treated to two title fights, and a phenomenal overall lineup, this early.
The last PPV to feature two title fights was UFC 181 in December. That card fielded an attendance of 9,617.
For this Memorial Day, the UFC is truly setting a precedent. Matchmaker Joe Silva and President Dana White have never loaded multiple title bouts onto one Memorial day card.
In fact, within the last five years, two PPVs were headlined by non-title bouts. The most successful Memorial Day card came in 2010, when a light heavyweight grudge match between Quinton Jackson and Rashad Evans headlined UFC 114.
UFC 114 drew an attendance of 15,000.
Last year, UFC 173 featured a bantamweight championship fight for its main event. Former champ Renan Barao fell to T.J. Dillashaw in dramatic fashion in the final frame.
None of the last five Memorial Day cards can compare to 2014’s installment. From 2010 to 2014, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Barao were all universally expected to emerge victorious against their opposition.
To be fair, each main event ended in a finish and gave fans exactly what they came to see.
When Rampage took on Suga at UFC 114, most were expecting a blistering brawl between the two powerful light heavyweights. Instead, fans witnessed an uneventful win by Evans.
UFC 187 has a little bit of everything and showcases talent from nearly every division. Anything can happen, including injuries. Until May 23, I recommend the UFC place all fighters in hyperbaric chambers.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com