UFC 187: Grades for Every Main Card Fighter from Johnson vs. Cormier Fight Card
Two belts were awarded Saturday night, as UFC 187 came live from the fight capital that is Las Vegas. With the UFC Light Heavyweight and Middleweight Championships on the line, two fighters put in grand performances to stake claim to gold.
In the main event, Daniel Cormier scored a third-round submission when he choked out Anthony Johnson for the vacant 205-pound title. It was a belt left behind by Jon Jones, who vacated the title due to his recent legal troubles.
Then, in the co-main event, Chris Weidman made short work of Vitor Belfort to retain his title. It was an impressive performance that continues to build the star of one of MMA's best young champions.
The main card was an interesting one with good fights and great moments. Let's take a look at each individual performance and put a grade on each fighter's outing.
Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga
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Joseph Benavidez: B+
Joseph Benavidez had a chance to stand out among the three flyweight bouts on the card Saturday night. He had a spot on the main card, even over the likes of John Dodson, who figured to get a flyweight title shot next with a victory.
Even so, Benavidez had a better spot on the card and could easily snatch that opportunity away with an impressive showing. And while his outing at UFC 187 wasn't bad (it was quite good), it lacked the flare needed to impress the brass enough for the title shot.
Healthy doses of takedowns and ground work gave Benavidez the win, but he is still in limbo with Demetrious Johnson as champion. That's why, despite the good performance, I can't warrant an A here.
John Moraga: C+
John Moraga simply got outhustled Saturday night. He ran into a better fighter but still gave him a decent fight.
Moraga was repeatedly outgrappled and beat to the punch by Benavidez. He definitely got some licks in himself as well as worked some takedowns of his own, but it was obvious that Benavidez was the better fighter.
Moraga remains one of the better 125ers in the UFC and a fighter who usually goes out and gives a great performance. And while this certainly isn't pushing his stock up, there is no shame in losing to a two-time flyweight challenger and one-time bantamweight challenger.
Andrei Arlovski vs. Travis Browne
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Andrei Arlovski: A
Ladies and gentleman, Andrei Arlovski is back. Career comebacks are a fad right now, just look at guys like Robbie Lawler and Anthony Johnson. Arlovski is part of that group and continued his march back to the top with a destructive performance against Travis Browne.
Arlovski was aggressive, technical and beastly against Browne, landing brutal combos and moving out on combinations with an interesting backfist strike. He hurt Browne more than a couple times, completely outclassing his former teammate with his more-stocked arsenal.
He even got clipped at one point, but he recovered and put a brutal beating on Hapa. It's the type of performance that has him toward the front of the line for heavyweight title shots right now, alongside Stipe Miocic.
That's the type of win that could move Arlovski one step closer to reclaiming his UFC title.
Travis Browne: C+
This grade would be lower, but we have to consider two things. The first is Browne earned Fight of the Night honors alongside "The Pit Bull," and the second being Browne showed off serious toughness.
Browne got tagged numerous times by Arlovski, visibly being on roller skates multiple times. He could have been put away a few times before he was, but he stayed in there and took more abuse.
From a performance standpoint, he did not have his best fight. Arlovski beat him up badly, and other than dropping the Belarusian at one point, he was dominated.
You gotta give him points for effort, though.
Donald Cerrone vs. John Makdessi
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Donald Cerrone: A
If a lightweight title shot is what Donald Cerrone was looking for Saturday night, he may have earned it. In a one-sided affair, Cerrone slammed John Makdessi with punches, kicks, knees and elbows en route to a stoppage.
Cerrone rearranged Makdessi's face with some pinpoint, powerful attacks. Of course, there was a knee and a head kick that could have been what broke Makdessi's jaw, but whatever it was, I am sure it was an accumulation of strikes Cerrone peppered him with all night.
This was a big win for Cerrone, who could be looking at UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos next. It would be a rematch that "Cowboy" is yearning for, after a poor performance in their first meeting.
John Makdessi: C
Let's give Makdessi some serious credit here. He took a late-notice fight after a recent victory against one of the best lightweights in the world (Shane Campbell in late April) and stood in the cage with him for the better of two rounds.
That said, he got lit up by Cerrone. While The Bull was able to land some shots of his own, he spent most of the fight getting tagged by the more precise and devastating Cerrone.
He now has to mend a broken jaw and wear and tear from two recent bouts. So outside of respect and a paycheck, Makdessi didn't earn much else here.
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Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort
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Chris Weidman: A+
Chris Weidman needs to be in serious talks of being a top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. What he did to Vitor Belfort on Saturday night needs to be considered one of the quickest, most savage beatings in UFC Middleweight Championship history.
Weidman took a couple shots early but was never really in serious trouble. Once he withstood a bevy of strikes from the Brazilian, he shot a takedown and quickly destroyed Belfort with massive ground-and-pound.
It was an impressive and nasty display. After finally earning a win over Belfort in a seemingly dragged out process to get to fight night, Weidman showed the wait was worth it with his trumping of The Phenom.
Vitor Belfort: F
With all the questions there were about post-TRT Belfort coming front and center for this fight, we got a glimpse of him without the extra "boost." And let's just say, it was nothing short of underwhelming.
Belfort was super human with TRT, knocking dudes out with relative ease. Against the best 185er in the world without his outside boost, he was easily manhandled in a way that Jon Jones couldn't even do.
Less than three minutes and numerous hammerfists later, Belfort was being saved by the referee. It puts serious doubt on his career at this point, as that was his most lopsided defeat in years.
Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier
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Daniel Cormier: A
Daniel Cormier fought the fight he needed to fight. In doing so, he claimed UFC gold in a dominant ground display against foe Anthony Johnson.
After taking some shots early, Cormier went on to dominate a ground assault against the Blackzilians member. He used massive takedowns and ground control to soften up Johnson, eventually getting him with a rear-naked choke in Round 3.
Where Cormier goes from here is yet to be seen. Ryan Bader could talk his way into a title shot, unless Jon Jones returns from suspension and gets a shot at getting his belt back.
Anthony Johnson: C-
If there were one thing that couldn't happen to Johnson, it would be to get in a grappling match with Cormier.
That's exactly what went down.
Johnson showed glimpses early of an advantage on the feet, but it didn't last long. Cormier put Johnson on his back, controlled him for a majority of the bout and forced Johnson to succumb after a grueling couple rounds.
Johnson will be back, but this was a big speed bump in one of the best comeback stories in MMA. After performances against Phil Davis, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Alexander Gustafsson, we expected more out of Johnson, but that's a credit to Cormier more than anything.
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