Jon Jones, the UFC's light heavyweight champion and Chris Weidman, the middleweight champion, will both be defending their titles on a stacked card in Las Vegas in May at UFC 187. Both fighters will be taking on dangerous opponents too.
Jones will be in the octagon against Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, the hardest puncher in the weight class and a man who just demolished Alexander Gustafsson in less than one round in Gustafsson's own country. Gustafsson gave Jones the fight of his life at UFC 165, and lost a hotly contested unanimous decision.
Weidman will take on Vitor Belfort, a similar opponent to Johnson in the sense that he has overwhelming power and aggression. Belfort might not have the pedigree of Weidman's recent conquests Anderson Silva and Lyoto Machida, but he is certainly just as devastating a striker.
There have been rumors of a showdown in the future between Jones, the current pound-for-pound king of mixed martial arts, and Weidman, a fast-riser who hasn't been beaten yet. Weidman spoke recently about that potential super fight, and said it's going to happen.
"I wanted to clear out my division more before I finally got...I wanted that super fight with Jon Jones," Weidman said. "And that fight's going to happen at some point. I've talked with him about it face to face, and he's excited about it too."
Should Weidman defeat Belfort, the next names on the list are Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold, but both have tough fights coming up this month. Neither of them would create close to the buzz of a fight with Jones.
Likewise for Jones, he has done a number on the light heavyweight division, and there are few contenders, if any, that he hasn't already conquered. A rematch vs. Daniel Cormier might intrigue fans, as well as a rematch with Gustafsson, although Johnson's pounding of Gustafsson may have removed some of the luster.
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