UFC 187 was live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Saturday night (May 23, 2015) with a stacked card, and produced a night of exciting and memorable action. When the action concluded, the promotion handed out four $50,000 checks to four fighters for ‘Performance of the Night’ and ‘Fight of the Night’ honors. The betting lines to wager on such props were made available at Several Bookmakerss. UFC 187’s Post-Fight Bonus’ went to… Chris Weidman earns Performance of the Night (formerly, Knockout of the Night) Weidman survived the early onslaught by Vitor Belfort, secured a takedown, advanced into mount and rained down a heavy ground and pound attack that eventually forced the referee to intervene and call off the action. It was a very impressive performance by Weidman, who showed toughness by weathering the early storm, and proved that he is still a finisher by wrapping things up just halfway into the opening frame. Other noteworthy knockout(s): – Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone made it eight in a row and cemented himself as the number one contender to Rafael dos Anjos’ UFC lightweight title by defeating TriStar MMA’s John Makdessi via second round TKO. After outstriking the Lebanese-Canadian on the feet for nearly two whole frames, he caught him with a head-kick towards the end of the round that broke Makdessi’s jaw and forced him to personally call off the action. Daniel Cormier earns Performance of the Night honors (formerly, Submission of the Night) “DC” did what he said he would do and he went out there and broke Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. After outwrestling “Rumble” for two and a half rounds, he wrapped things up with a rear naked choke in the third frame, becoming the UFC’s new Light Heavyweight Champion. It was a solid outing by Cormier, and in my opinion, the most impressive performance of his UFC career. Other noteworthy submission(s): – Dong Hyun Kim returned to action following an extended layoff to defeat fellow veteran Josh Burkman via arm triangle choke in the third and final round of action. Burkman had “Stun Gun” hurt in the second and third rounds, but the Korean kept his composure and used his superior grappling to turn things in his favor and ultimately get his hand raised. Burkman had his moments in each round, but it was Kim’s superior grappling that kept making the difference in each frame. If he did not secure the submission, he would have walked away with a unanimous 30-27 nod from the judges’, despite being rocked a number of times throughout the three round contest. – Islam Makhachev defeated fellow promotional newcomer Leo Kuntz via rear naked choke submission in the second round of action. With Khabib Nurmagomedov in his corner, he earned his first Octagon victory while keeping his undefeated record intact at an impressive 12-0 with 10 finishes. Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne earn Fight of the Night honors for their one round war on the feet on the Pay Per View main card of UFC 187. The intense action started when Arlovski hurt “Hapa” early in the frame, and the slugged it out with both men getting hurt, but ultimately it was the former UFC Heavyweight Champion who came out on top, scoring the knockout blows against the cage, forcing the referee to step in and call off the action with only seconds remaining in the stanza. It was an incredibly impressive performance by “The Pitbull” and a big upset, as he was a massive underdog heading into the bout. This was a very entertaining fight that had me and my friends on our feet, and I’m sure the same thing was happening in many households across the nation. (Sidenote: I recommended a play on Arlovski/Browne winning ‘Fight of the Night’ at +900. Kudos to those who tailed.) Other noteworthy fights: – The aforementioned Weidman vs Belfort middleweight title bout. – Joseph Benavidez defeated John Moraga via unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards to extend his winning streak to three, and he hopes to get a third crack at Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. Benavidez and Moraga went back and forth in this very fun, three round flyweight affair, with Benavidez getting the better of Moraga both on the feet and on the mat.
