Three pivotal bouts in the respected weight divisions have been added to the already stacked UFC 187 fight card, as Donald Cerrone is set to take on Khabib Nurmagomedov in what will likely be a No. 1 contenders matchup at lightweight, Travis Browne and Andrei Arlovski are slated to throw down, and top flyweights Joseph Benavidez and John Moraga are set to go to war.
Cerrone-Nurmagomedov, Browne-Arlovski, Benavidez-Moraga on tap for UFC 187
These matchups were announced on Wednesday’s ‘UFC Tonight’.
Cerrone (27-6, 1 NC) is currently riding a seven-fight winning streak and has never looked better. His last loss came to the hands of now-No. 1 contender Raphael dos Anjos in 2013, and since then he’s defeated the likes of Benson Henderson, Edson Barboza, Eddie Alvarez, Myles Jury and more.
Nurmagomedov (22-0) has a lot of hype behind him because of his perfect record, but a string of injuries and his religion has forced him to be inactive, last defeating dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 11 last April.
Browne (17-2-1) got back on track with a stoppage win over Brendan Schaub last December at UFC 181. Prior to that, he was dominated for 25 minutes against interim champ Fabricio Werdum in the headliner of UFC on FOX 11.
Arlovski (23-10) made his return to the UFC last year, and received loads of criticism following a controversial and lackluster win over the aforementioned Schaub. Following that, he shut those people up and shocked the world with a first-round knockout over Antonio ‘Bigfoot’ Silva.
Benavidez (21-4) has looked great since losing for the second time against flyweight champ Demetrious Johnson in December 2013, with a stoppage win over Tim Elliot and a decision win over Dustin Ortiz.
Moraga (16-3) dropped a loss to No. 1 contender John Dodson last summer, but has looked great since then. He’s picked up two submission wins over prospects Justin Scoggins and Willie Gates.
UFC 185 takes place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 23. In the main event, Jon Jones scraps with Anthony Johnson. Also on the card, Chris Weidman takes on Vitor Belfort in the co-feature.
