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Jones and Weidman to defend titles in Las Vegas

Jon Jones tested positive for cocaine in December but was not hit with a ban © AP

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Light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title for a ninth time when he meets Anthony Johnson in Las Vegas.

The championship fight will co-headline a long-awaited middleweight title fight between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 23.

Jones (21-1) is coming off a title defence against Daniel Cormier via a unanimous decision at UFC 182 on January 3. After the fight, it was revealed Jones, 27, had tested positive for traces of cocaine in a pre-bout drug test taken on December 4.

Chris Weidman will face Vitor Belfort, who has not fought since November 2013 © Getty Images

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The Nevada State Athletic Commission allowed the fight to go on, since cocaine is not considered a banned substance outside of competition. Jones briefly admitted himself to a drug treatment facility after the news broke. The UFC fined the him $25,000 (£16,000) for violating its code of conduct policy.

Jones, who recently moved to Albuquerque to be near his training camp at Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA full time, is the top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter in the world, according to ESPN.com.

Johnson (19-4) earned his title shot by upsetting Alexander Gustafsson with a first-round knockout in Stockholm on January 24. A former UFC welterweight, Johnson went up to the light heavyweight division in 2012 after repeatedly missing weight in the 170- and 185-pound classes.

Fighting out of Boca Raton, Florida, Johnson is currently on a nine-fight winning streak.

Weidman (12-0) will finally look to put the Belfort fight behind him. The 30-year-old champion has been scheduled to fight the Brazilian three separate times. A title fight booked in May fell apart when Belfort was forced to withdraw after the NSAC banned testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) in combat sports. The fight was rescheduled for December and then again in February, but fell through both times due to injuries to Weidman.

The New York native fought only once in 2014, recording a unanimous decision title defense against Lyoto Machida at UFC 175.

Belfort (24-10) has not fought since a knockout win against Dan Henderson in November 2013.

UFC 187 also will include a lightweight contender fight between Khabib Nurmagomedov (22-0) and Donald Cerrone (27-6).

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd