Jon Jones vs Anthony Johnson

Lore & Background

Johnson was expected to face Jon Jones on May 23, 2015, at UFC 187. However, on April 28, it was announced that Jones had been stripped of the UFC Light heavyweight title and suspended indefinitely due to a felony hit-and-run charge. Johnson faced Daniel Cormier for the vacant UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Early in the first round, Johnson became the first man to knock down Cormier, but failed to get the finish. Cormier eventually won the fight via rear naked-choke submission in round three.

In Their Own Story

The MGM Grand Garden Arena hummed with a low, electric tension. The lights cut to a single white column over the Octagon, and the crowd noise swelled into a wall of sound that vibrated in the chest. Johnson stepped through the cage door first, jaw set, eyes locked forward, the crowd on his feet chanting his name in a rhythm that shook the concrete floor. Then Jones emerged — unhurried, almost bored, rolling his shoulders with the casual ease of a man stretching in a park. The referee's voice was swallowed by the roar. Gloves on. Cages closed. For the first minute, Johnson did exactly what he always did: he walked forward, hands high, shoulders rolling, trying to make the Octagon feel small. Jones floated. A jab, a slip, a cross that found the corner of Johnson's jaw. Johnson blinked, reset, came again. And again. Each time, Jones was already half a step away, a palm open, a knee up, a head tilted just enough to let the haymaker sail past. The crowd, which had been Johnson's, began to waver. Then the takedown. Then the rain of punches on the canvas, each one landing with a dull, final thud. The referee's hand came up. The Octagon went silent for one breath, then detonated.

Reader's Guide

The fight never took place as originally scheduled due to Jones's legal issues. Johnson instead fought Cormier for the vacant title and lost by submission.

Did You Know?

• Johnson was the first man to knock down Daniel Cormier in their title fight.
• Jon Jones was stripped of the title and suspended indefinitely before the bout.