Jones vs Johnson, Weidman vs Belfort, Nurmagomedov vs Cerrone added to UFC 178

If all goes according to plan, this year's UFC Memorial Day card is shaping up to be one of the biggest of the year.

As reported on Wednesday night's edition of UFC Tonight, two title fights are official for UFC 187. Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will try and defend his belt for a ninth time against Anthony Johnson, while middleweight champion Chris Weidman will finally square off with Vitor Belfort.

Also official for the card is a lightweight bout between Donald Cerrone (27-6-1) and Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0), which will very likely determine the No. 1 contender to take on the winner of Anthony Pettis and Rafael dos Anjos.

UFC 187 is slated to take place in Las Vegas on May 23. No venue has been set for the card yet.

Jones, 27, will be making his second title defense in 2015. He defeated Daniel Cormier via unanimous decision at UFC 182 on Jan. 3, in what many people believed was his toughest test to date. The Jackson-Winkeljohn fighter tested positive for cocaine metabolites in an out-of-competition test in early December, which prompted him to enroll with a rehab facility in Albuquerque, New Mexico after the fight.

Johnson emerged as the No. 1 contender by upsetting Alexander Gustafsson on Jan. 24 in Stockholm. The 30-year old fighter has been one of the great turnaround stories in MMA, having undergone a beleaguered stint as a welterweight his first time through the UFC. After missing weight on numerous occasions, Johnson restarted his career at 205 pounds in other promotions, most notably the World Series of Fighting. Since losing to Belfort at UFC 142 in 2012, "Rumble" has gone 9-0, including 3-0 in the UFC.

Weidman and Belfort were supposed to fight at UFC 184 on Feb. 28, but was postponed when Weidman injured himself in training. Now the co-main for UFC 187, Weidman (12-0) will look to defend his title for the third time.

The 37-year old Belfort hasn't fought since 2013, when he went 3-0 against Michael Bisping, Dan Henderson and Luke Rockhold.

Cerrone and Nurmagomedov have been on a collision course for the last year. "Cowboy" Cerrone has won seven straight fights, including two already in 2015 over Myles Jury and Benson Henderson.

Nurmagomedov, who is returning from a knee injury, has gone 6-0 in the UFC, with his last victory coming over dos Anjos back in April.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/2/18/8062877/ufc-187--anthony-johnson-vs-jon-jones-vitor-belfort-vs-chris-weidman