(PRESS RELEASE) -- Las Vegas – On Memorial Day Weekend, two world title fights headline UFC® 187 as undisputed light heavyweight king Jon Jones meets No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson in the five-round main event. Plus, middleweight champion Chris Weidman puts his belt on the line when he faces former light heavyweight champion Vitor Belfort Saturday, May 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Since making his UFC return in 2014, (No. 1) Anthony “Rumble” Johnson (19-4, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla.) has gone 3-0, collecting two first-round finishes over former title challenger Alexander Gustafsson (TKO at 2:15 of round 1 at UFC Fight Night® in Stockholm) and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (KO at 0:44 seconds of round 1 at UFC on FOX in San Jose), while also delivering a masterful performance against seventh-ranked Phil Davis at UFC 172. A nine-fight win streak, coupled with dominant wins over top tier talent, has earned Johnson a chance to challenge the pound-for-pound king for the light heavyweight world title.
In what will be an electric co-main event, middleweight champion Chris Weidman (12-0, fighting out of Baldwin, N.Y.) will put his spotless record on the line when he faces the fourth-ranked Belfort, who has been anxiously awaiting his shot at the belt. After doing the seemingly impossible by beating former champion Anderson Silva twice, Weidman went on to defend his title in spectacular fashion against former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 175. The five-round battle earned the pair a Fight of the Year nomination and cemented Weidman’s place in the pound-for-pound rankings (No. 4). With victories over many of the sport’s elite, the New Yorker looks to add another notable name to his resume when he takes on one of his most ferocious opponents to date.
Determined to hold titles in two weight classes, former 205-pound champ (No. 4) Vitor Belfort (24-10, fighting out of Boca Raton, Fla. by way of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) has been destroying his competition as of late, and at 37 years old, has never looked better. In his most recent outings, “The Phenom” defeated both Dan Henderson and Luke Rockhold in the first round following his incredible second-round TKO victory over Michael Bisping in January 2013. Weidman and Belfort have been slated to meet on three separate occasions, and the two will finally go to war on May 23.
Other bouts for UFC 187 include:
· Undefeated lightweight Khabib Nurmagomedov returns from a lengthy layoff (22-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) to face No. 3 Donald Cerrone (27-6, 1NC, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.), a winner of seven straight.
· In a battle of heavyweights, third-ranked Travis Browne (17-2-1, fighting out of Glendale, Calif.) collides with (No. 7) Andre Arlovski (23-10, 1 NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.).
· Ninth-ranked welterweight Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim (19-3-1, 1 NC, fighting out of Busan, South Korea) meets Josh Burkman (28-11, fighting out of Draper, Utah).
· Former title challengers Joseph Benavidez (21-4, fighting out of Sacramento, Calif.) and John Moraga (16-3, fighting out of Phoenix, Ariz.) hit the stage in a flyweight scrap.
· Plus, the flyweight division’s No. 1 contender and TUF season 14 winner John Dodson (17-6, fighting out of Albuquerque, N.M.) makes his return against (No. 9) Zach Makovsky (19-5, fighting out of Philadelphia, Penn.).
· In their UFC debuts, newcomers Leo Kuntz (17-1-1, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla.) and Islam Makhachev (11-0, fighting out of Dagestan, Russia) square off in a 155-pound bout.
For more information or current fight news, visit www.ufc.com. All bouts live and subject to change.
Tickets for UFC® 187: JONES vs. JOHNSON go on sale Friday, March 6 at 10 a.m. PT and are priced at $1,000, $750, $500, $350, $225 and $125 (prices do not include applicable service charges and handling fees). Tickets are available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000. Beginning at noon, tickets also will be available for purchase in person at any MGM Resorts International box office. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person.
UFC Fight Club® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, March 4 at 10 a.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, March 5 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.
Get your VIP package today! The UFC VIP Experience packages together your tickets with behind-the-scenes access to the official weigh-ins, backstage tours, meet and greet and autograph signings with top UFC stars, Q&A sessions, and photo opportunities, access to an in-arena VIP party room, a chance to hold the championship belt inside the Octagon® and more!
UFC®187: JONES vs. JOHNSON will be available live on Pay-Per-View at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on UFC.TV, iN DEMAND, DirecTV, DISH Network, Avail-TVN, and in Canada on BellTV, Shaw Communications, Sasktel, and Viewer’s Choice Canada for a suggested retail price of $49.99 US/CAN for Standard Definition and $59.99 US/CAN for High -Definition.
About the Ultimate Fighting Championship®
UFC® is the premier mixed martial arts (MMA) organization and largest pay-per-view event provider in the world. Headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in London, Toronto, Singapore and Sao Paulo, UFC produces more than 40 live events annually that consistently sell out some of the most prestigious arenas around the globe. UFC programming is broadcast in 129 countries and territories to nearly 800 million TV households worldwide in 28 different languages. The UFC has a multi-year broadcast agreement with FOX in the U.S., which annually includes four live events broadcast on the FOX network, as well as The Ultimate Fighter® reality television show and thousands of hours of programming on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2. In 2014, UFC launched UFC FIGHT PASS®, a digital subscription service with exclusive live events, thousands of fights on-demand and original content. The UFC organization also licenses over 100 UFC GYM® locations, and owns UFC.TV® (offering live event broadcasts and video on-demand around the world), UFC FIT® (an in-home fitness and nutrition program), UFC Magazine, and has a videogame franchise with EA SPORTS, UFC Fight Club®, UFC Fan Expo®, UFC branded apparel, DVDs and Blu-rays and Topps Trading Cards. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter and Instagram: @UFC.
About the MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, annual Billboard Music Awards, annual iHeartRadio Music Festival and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.