UFC 187: Daniel Cormier Submits Anthony Johnson

UFC 187: Johnson vs. Cormier took place on May 23, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. After Jon Jones was stripped of the light heavyweight championship, Daniel Cormier submitted Anthony Johnson to win the vacant title. Chris Weidman stopped Vitor Belfort to retain the middleweight championship, and Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne produced a wild heavyweight fight.

Event video: UFC 187.

Cormier survives Johnson’s power and wins the vacant title

Johnson dropped Cormier with a right hand in the first round and continued to threaten with explosive strikes. Cormier recovered, forced the fight into wrestling exchanges, and steadily drained Johnson with takedowns and top pressure.

In round three, Cormier took Johnson’s back and finished a rear-naked choke at 2:39. The victory made Cormier UFC light heavyweight champion only months after his decision loss to Jones.

Weidman stops Belfort after surviving an early barrage

Belfort opened aggressively and landed a sustained combination along the fence. Weidman weathered the attack, took the challenger down, mounted, and finished with punches at 2:53 of the first round to retain the middleweight title.

Arlovski and Browne trade knockdowns in a one-round classic

Andrei Arlovski hurt Travis Browne repeatedly with punches, but Browne briefly dropped Arlovski during the same frantic round. Arlovski recovered immediately and forced the stoppage at 4:41. The bout earned Fight of the Night.

Donald Cerrone stopped John Makdessi with a head kick in round two, while Joseph Benavidez outpointed John Moraga. John Dodson, Dong Hyun Kim, Rafael Natal, Colby Covington, Islam Makhachev, and Justin Scoggins also earned wins.

Complete UFC 187 results

• Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson — submission (rear-naked choke); round 3, 2:39. Cormier won the vacant UFC light heavyweight championship.
• Chris Weidman def. Vitor Belfort — TKO (punches); round 1, 2:53. Weidman retained the UFC middleweight championship.
• Donald Cerrone def. John Makdessi — TKO (head kick); round 2, 4:44.
• Andrei Arlovski def. Travis Browne — TKO (punches); round 1, 4:41.
• Joseph Benavidez def. John Moraga — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• John Dodson def. Zach Makovsky — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Dong Hyun Kim def. Josh Burkman — submission (arm-triangle choke); round 3, 2:13.
• Rafael Natal def. Uriah Hall — split decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Colby Covington def. Mike Pyle — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Islam Makhachev def. Leo Kuntz — submission (rear-naked choke); round 2, 2:38.
• Justin Scoggins def. Josh Sampo — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.

UFC 187 crowned a new light heavyweight champion, kept Weidman on top at middleweight, and featured one of 2015’s most memorable heavyweight rounds.

Sources

UFC: official UFC 187 event record; UFC; Sherdog event record.

Article Tags

UFC 187, Daniel Cormier, Anthony Johnson, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Results