UFC 187

Chris Weidman, the UFC middleweight champion from Baldwin, makes his third title defense at UFC 187 against Vitor Belfort on May 23. The card is headlined by Anthony “Rumble” Johnson and Daniel Cormier fighting for the vacant light heavyweight title. Newsday’s Mark La Monica and Jeffrey Basinger are in Las Vegas to document fight week. Follow along here for videos, stories and photos throughout the week.

And still . . .

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

And still . . .

Chris Weidman successfully defended his UFC middleweight title at UFC 187 with a first-round TKO of Vitor Belfort.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

Chris Weidman behind the scenes

FIGHT WEEK

Chris Weidman behind the scenes

Newsday takes you behind the scenes with Chris Weidman during UFC 187 fight week in Las Vegas.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

And the new . . .

CORMIER VS. JOHNSON

And the new . . .

Daniel Cormier stopped Anthony 'Rumble' Johnson in the third round to win the vacant light heavyweight title.

Classic slugfest

ARLOVSKI VS. BROWNE

Classic slugfest

Andrei Arlovski and Travis Browne put on a classic heavyweight slugfest, with haymakers and bombs and knockdowns and wobbly legs.

'Timeout'

CERRONE VS. MAKDESSI

'Timeout'

Donald Cerrone kicked John Makdessi in the face and he called timeout to end the fight.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

Natal takes NY

HALL VS. NATAL

Natal takes NY

Rafael Natal won a split decision over Uriah Hall in a fight between New York middleweights.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

Home cooking

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

Home cooking

The Serra-Longo fight team showed up to support Chris Weidman during his weight cut for UFC 187.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

Staredown gets heated

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

Staredown gets heated

After making weight, Chris Weidman had some strong words for Vitor Belfort.

UFC 187 staredowns

WEIGH-INS

UFC 187 staredowns

Watch every staredown from the UFC 187 weigh-ins.

A 'personal' fight

HALL VS. NATAL

A 'personal' fight

Uriah Hall says his middleweight fight against fellow New Yorker Rafael Natal has taken on a 'personal' nature at UFC 187.

Playing the role

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

Playing the role

Every member of Team Weidman has a specific role in preparing him for UFC 187. For Gian Villante, that's a physical task.

Media day highlights

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

Media day highlights

Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort talk about their upcoming fight during UFC 187 media day.

Weight off shoulders

BROWNE VS. ARLOVSKI

Weight off shoulders

Travis Browne is one of two fighters on the UFC 187 card with no stresses about weight cutting.

Bader bashing

Bader bashing

Daniel Cormier was supposed to fight Ryan Bader next month. Now they do it through Twitter and the media.

Aside from Jon Jones ...

JOHNSON VS. CORMIER

Aside from Jon Jones ...

Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson had plenty to say about each other heading into Saturday's fight for the vacant light heavyweight title.

'This is what I love to do'

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

'This is what I love to do'

Chris Weidman, the UFC middleweight champion from Baldwin, was excited for UFC 187 open workouts on Wednesday. He was 12 years old when Vitor Belfort first won a UFC tournament.

Newsday/Jeffrey Basinger

Happy birthday, Longo!

Happy birthday, Longo!

Chris Weidman and Gian Villante surprised Ray Longo in the middle of the UFC 187 open workouts with a piece of birthday cake.

Cormier vs. Johnson

Cormier vs. Johnson

Daniel Cormier and Anthony Johnson discuss their fight against each other instead of Jon Jones at UFC 187 open workouts.

Weidman vs. Belfort

Weidman vs. Belfort

Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort talk about their upcoming fight on Saturday after the UFC 187 open workouts.

'Cowboy' Cerrone workout

'Cowboy' Cerrone workout

Donald 'Cowboy' Cerrone wasn't scheduled to do an open workout on the casino floor of the MGM Grand. He just did it anyway.

How we got here

WEIDMAN VS. BELFORT

How we got here

Recapping the 17-plus months between the first time Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort were scheduled to fight and this weekend when it will happen.

Longo's 'TUF' return

Longo's 'TUF' return

Ray Longo returned to the UFC's training center, home to 'The Ultimate Fighter' show, for the first time in more than seven years.

Real champion?

Real champion?

Jon Jones casts a huge shadow over UFC 187 this week. How will the Cormier-Johnson winner be viewed?

Rollin' with Chris Weidman

Rollin' with Chris Weidman

Hear from those at Serra BJJ who have been rolling with Chris Weidman since he first started the martial art.

Training days

Training days

Scenes from Chris Weidman's training camp on Long Island before UFC 187.

On fighting and FIFA

On fighting and FIFA

Yes, Chris Weidman is the reigning UFC middleweight champion, but can he beat Gian Villante in video games?

On sparring Weidman

On sparring Weidman

Stephen Thompson, a UFC welterweight, recalled his first sparring session against Chris Weidman.

On preparing to fight

On preparing to fight

Team Weidman talks about the rigors of running hills and the final week of sparring in the gym.

Refuse to lose

Refuse to lose

The catchy phrase kind of rhymes, works well on T-shirts and takes up just 13 characters in social media when adding the hashtag symbol. But to Chris Weidman, it's a mindset and a mantra.

<a href='https://www.newsday.com/sports/mixed-martial-arts/chris-weidman-s-ufc-history-1.5564791'>Chris Weidman's UFC fight history</a>

Chris Weidman's UFC fight history

Baldwin's Chris Weidman has had eight fights in the UFC. Here's a recap of his career so far.

Mario Gonzalez

UFC 187 preview

UFC 187 preview

Anthony Johnson and Daniel Cormier fight for the vacant light heavyweight title. Baldwin's Chris Weidman defends his middleweight title against Vitor Belfort.

Daniel Cormier's UFC fight history

Daniel Cormier's UFC fight history

A recap of how the former two-time U.S. Olympic wrestler has performed inside the octagon since joining UFC in 2013.

UFC 187 fight card

UFC 187 fight card

At MGM Grand Garden
Arena in Las Vegas
Main card, 10 p.m. ET on pay-per-view

Vacant light heavyweight title

Anthony Johnson vs. Daniel Cormier

Middleweight championship

Chris Weidman vs. Vitor Belfort

Other bouts

Donald Cerrone vs. John Makdessi

Travis Browne vs. Andrei Arlovski

Joseph Benavidez vs. John Moraga

Prelims, 8 p.m. on Fox Sports 1

John Dodson vs. Zach Makovsky

Dong Hyun-Kim vs. Josh Burkman

Uriah Hall vs. Rafael Natal

Rose Namajunas vs. Nina Ansaroff

Early prelims, 7 p.m. on UFC Fight Pass

Mike Pyle vs. Sean Spencer

Islam Makhachev vs. Leo Kuntz

Justin Scoggins vs. Josh Sampo


The Jon Jones situation

Jones stripped of title

Jones stripped of title

Jon Jones was supposed to defend his title at UFC 187 against Anthony Johnson. As of April 28, he's not the champ, is suspended indefinitely and is facing a felony charge of leaving the scene of an accident.

Cormier dismayed

Cormier dismayed

Daniel Cormier lost his last fight -- a title shot against Jon Jones. Now he's got a shot at the vacant title against Anthony Johnson. Still, Cormier was disappointed in Jones.

Previous Chris Weidman documentaries

Weidman vs. Silva

UFC 162

Weidman vs. Silva

Relive Chris Weidman's stunning victory over then-UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva at UFC 162 in Las Vegas on July 6, 2013.

Weidman vs. Silva II

UFC 168

Weidman vs. Silva II

Newsday chronicled Baldwin's Chris Weidman in Las Vegas as he defended his title against Anderson Silva on Dec. 28, 2013.

Weidman vs. Machida

UFC 175

Weidman vs. Machida

Another fight week, another behind-the-scenes look at Chris Weidman as he defends his title against Lyoto Machida on July 5, 2014.