UFC has had a lot of ups and downs in 2015 so far. After a fairly successful first quarter in terms of TV ratings and Pay-Per-View buy numbers, the promotion hit another rough patch: cards falling apart due to injuries, controversial Reebok sponsorship deal which left many fighters unhappy, and legal issues faced by the company as well as certain fighters. Nonetheless, the line-up they put together for UFC 187 looked to be the most stacked card since UFC 100 (and arguably the best in the organization history). Of course the MMA gods didn’t spare this great card: light heavyweight champion Jon Jones, who was slated to defend his title against Anthony Johnson, was stripped of the belt and suspended from UFC due to a series of poor decisions on his part, and a lightweight title eliminator bout between two top contenders fell apart when Khabib Nurmagomedov suffered an injury and pulled out of his fight against Donald Cerrone. Despite these losses, UFC 187 had such a strong line-up that it still remains an amazing card, and will be one of the rare PPV events worth the asking price.
Main Card (Pay-Per-View)
Main Event: [#2 LHW] Anthony Johnson vs [#3 LHW] Daniel Cormier for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Worth: $20
Why: If the original main event of Jon Jones vs Anthony Johnson had gone on as planned, it would have been the second UFC fight this year to receive my max valuation of $25 (the first and only one so far was Jon Jones vs Daniel Cormier at UFC 182). The replacement bout of ‘Rumble’ Johnson vs Daniel Cormier is still a great fight, but let’s not kid ourselves: the winner of this fight will be a paper champion unless Jon Jones receives a lengthy prison term for his shenanigans, or decides to walk away from the sport. I am looking forward to Cormier-Johnson, and really this was the best fight UFC could have made under the circumstances, but I can’t help the feeling that the winner of this fight will be just keeping the belt warm for Jones’ eventual return.