UFC 187 Results: The Real Winners and Losers from Johnson vs. Cormier Fight Card
Robert Frost never had this in mind.
Instead of two roads diverging, we have about 17. Standing in for that yellow wood, we have a desert outpost known as Las Vegas, Nevada, and a little blockbuster known as UFC 187.
Saturday night was thick with storylines, some of which actually managed to diverge from themselves. In the main event, two light heavyweights fought for a vacant title. With previous champ Jon Jones in exile after his alleged role in a hit-and-run collision, wildly talented and widely beloved Daniel Cormier took on Anthony Johnson, an incredible knockout artist whose own tale of professional redemption is marred by questions over his history with domestic violence.
But wait! That was only one of the two title fights on the slate. In the other, Chris Weidman, who spent the week hitting interviews out of the park like he was Bryce Harper in batting practice, seemed ready to take a big step forward into stardom by defending his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort, the aging former phenom who was once again accused just last night—by Weidman himself, no less—of under-the-board preparation practices.
Here's the craziest part: Those are just the top two fights. There was intrigue up and down the card, from Fight Pass to finale. The word "stacked" is thrown around too often, but here, the term definitely applies.
Who got on the road to glory, and who took the primrose path? As always, the final stat lines only reveal so much. Here are the real winners and losers from UFC 187.
And for the literal-minded among us, full card results appear at the end of the slideshow.
Winner: Daniel Cormier
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Congratulations to the new UFC light heavyweight champion, Mr. Daniel Cormier.
Cormier failed to bring home the belt the first time he tried, when he lost by decision to Jon Jones at UFC 182 in January.
This time, he weathered the early strikes from Johnson that we all knew were coming. Then he exhausted Johnson against the fence and, in the third round, when Johnson was a husk of himself from carrying Cormier's weight, Cormier slid in his arm for a rear-naked choke and the victory.
But as they strapped on the belt, Cormier made it clear his mind was on another man.
"Jon Jones, get your s--t together!" Cormier told broadcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. "I'm waiting for you!"
Loser: Anthony Johnson
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Johnson is still, in my opinion, the most fearsome striker in the UFC right now, at any weight class. And he laid it all on Cormier. But Cormier's defense and chin were just good enough, and Rumble was unable to land a decisive blow.
His gas tank has never been a strong suit, and he showed why again when the wrestler began to grind him out. He appeared to lose the will to live, like, two minutes into the second round (if not sooner).
Johnson's MMA path, in and out of the cage, has been circuitous. It looks like it will continue to be so. But as long as he can kick the engine block out of an Escalade, he'll have a place in the sport. He will be back.
Winner: Jon Jones
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It's funny how Jon Jones can be considered a winner even though he's on indefinite suspension—or "hiatus," as UFC broadcaster Mike Goldberg called it Saturday.
But he is. Because as good as Cormier looked Saturday, and despite his call-out, he didn't display anything that would appear to give Jones pause in a rematch, assuming Jones returns. Cormier's mat and clinch games are top-notch, but Jones didn't have an issue with them in January, and there's no sense that there would be an issue in the future.
To put it glibly, Jones is not exactly winning at life right now. But he'd be favored to win in this rematch if he did return and receive this title shot.
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Loser: Vitor Belfort
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"I knew he wanted to fight on the ground," said Vitor Belfort to Rogan after the fight. "I was doing great...I should have kept my distance. He was better tonight."
Yeah, you should have. When this hit the mat, it was only a matter of time. And we're talking seconds here, not minutes.
Belfort quickly gave up his back, then found himself in mount. Rather than attempt to escape, he appeared to be attempting to punch back. When you're mounted, that's not going to be a sustainable solution.
Whether Weidman cares to admit it or not, Belfort did hurt him a bit with that early barrage. Credit Belfort for that, and for the level-headed way in which he accepted defeat and acknowledged Weidman's superiority in the immediate aftermath.
Belfort has an uncertain future in MMA. He was noticeably smaller and less ripped than he was before the Nevada State Athletic Commission banned testosterone replacement therapy, which he was openly using before the ban. In any case, it looks like he may be finished at the highest levels of the sport, at least for the moment.
Winner: Chris Weidman
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A new MMA star was born Saturday night. And not just a star inside the MMA bubble. Like, a real, actual star.
When Chris Weidman survived an early punching onslaught from Vitor Belfort and pounded him out for a violent and convincing win, that was the exclamation point.
The ground work for that happened earlier this week, when he did great interviews with not only MMA-centric broadcasters like Ariel Helwani but more mainstream sports media members like Katie Nolan of Fox Sports (on her show, Garbage Time).
Either way, the 30-year-old Long Island native is now 13-0, with three straight title defenses to his name.
Belfort bloodied Weidman with punches, but Weidman recovered, took Belfort down and achieved full mount in seconds. He then rained rights and lefts until the referee was forced to stop the contest. It was over in less than three minutes.
"He hit me with some good shots, but I've been there in sparring. I was just covering, covering, covering and I was ready to come back," Weidman told Rogan in the cage after the fight.
Weidman did allude to the allegations he leveled Friday about Belfort's recent drug-test results, noting that Belfort's testosterone levels were "a little off."
But he didn't dwell on it. He didn't need to. He did plenty of talking before Saturday night. On Saturday night, the UFC's newest star didn't need to do much more.
Loser: John Dodson
6 of 9
Don't react like that, John. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.
When this fight started, John Dodson was a substantial -400 favorite. This was despite the fact that Dodson had been on the shelf for nearly a year before this fight with Zach Makovsky, thanks to a torn ACL.
Dodson looked OK, but he was far from amazing. Makovsky landed his left hand almost at will and was able to use the mere threat of his takedown to keep Dodson's aggression at bay.
Luke Thomas of MMAFighting.com observed on Twitter that Makovsky was "turning Dodson into something he's not good at [being]: a defensive fighter."
Ultimately, Dodson landed enough offense to sway the judges, and he took a unanimous-decision win. But that may not be enough to cinch up a rematch with champ Demetrious Johnson, something Dodson has been actively spoiling for.
Todd Martin of the Los Angeles Times might have said it best: "Win or lose, this isn't the sort of fight that will get fans excited for Dodson as a title challenger. That creates a potential opening."
Winners: Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne
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If there has been a better round of action in MMA this year, I haven't seen it. And I watch a lot of MMA.
Andrei Arlovski continues to defy the odds. At age 36, he is now 3-0 since returning to the UFC last June. His first-round TKO of Travis Browne was easily his crowning achievement. Was it enough to earn him a title shot?
We'll see. With the heat he just generated for himself, I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see it.
It all started when Arlovski dropped Browne with a right hand early. Browne got up but was noticeably wobbling. Arlovski circled, further piecing up Browne with big uppercuts and knees.
But here's where it got interesting. Just when it seemed Arlovski was about to seal the deal, Browne reached out from the beyond and felled Arlovski with a right hand of his own.
Arlovski regrouped and eventually punched him out, but not before Browne showed again how tough and how powerful he really is.
And after, we had a new feel-good storyline in the UFC. Arlovski's late-career resurgence is very real, and it may have just launched him to the top.
Bonus winner here goes to the entire heavyweight division, which could use this dose of excitement. Great stuff all around. I'm sure both men will be cashing some nice checks here in short order.
Loser: Rafael Natal
8 of 9
If a fight is simultaneously dirty and boring, well, that's not exactly two tastes that go great together. That's what we got in Rafael Natal's split-decision win over Uriah Hall.
So why does Natal, and not Hall, get the loser tag here? To be honest, either is a fine candidate for the distinction. Despite the fact that this was an unabashed grudge match for both men, the poor sportsmanship displayed—a fight-opening groin kick from Natal, a handshake refusal at the end from Hall—was far more aggressive than any actual, you know, fighting display.
But Natal wins by a nose for the groin kick and for apparently initiating the bad blood by preventing Hall from working with a trainer with whom they both had a relationship.
And in a junker like this, is there ever really a victor?
UFC 187 Full Card Results
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Main Card
Daniel Cormier def. Anthony Johnson by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:39, Rd. 3 (for UFC light heavyweight championship)
Chris Weidman def. Vitor Belfort by TKO, 2:53, Rd. 1 (for UFC middleweight championship)
Donald Cerrone def. John Makdessi by TKO, 4:44, Rd. 2
Andrei Arlovski def. Travis Browne by TKO, 4:41, Rd. 1
Joseph Benavidez def. John Moraga by unanimous decision
Preliminary Card
John Dodson def. Zach Makovsky by unanimous decision
Dong Hyun Kim def. Josh Burkman by submission (arm-triangle choke), 2:13, Rd. 3
Rafael Natal def. Uriah Hall by split decision
Colby Covington def. Mike Pyle by unanimous decision
Islam Makhachev def. Leo Kuntz by submission (rear-naked choke), 2:38, Rd. 2
Justin Scoggins def. Josh Sampo by unanimous decision
Scott Harris writes about MMA for Bleacher Report. For more stuff like this, follow Scott on Twitter.
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