Issue 116

July 2014

In the battle between two of the UFC lightweight division’s most successfulbonus cheque-claiming combatants anything can and probably will happen.

Top contender in the ultra-competitive lightweight division of the UFC’s fondly remembered ‘little brother’ promotion, Donald Cerrone, 23-6 (1NC), lost all three of his challenges for the WEC lightweight title. Jamie Varner took a controversial technical decision when, in the final round of an epic struggle, a Cerrone knee to the head hit a downed Varner who was unable to continue.  

Benson Henderson first beat him by decision in a five-round classic and then, finished Cerrone inside two minutes with a guillotine choke. Since the WEC’s closure, ‘Cowboy’ has been a fan-friendly UFC lightweight mainstay, boasting a fantastic highlight reel of fights and finishes going into his first-ever main event in the Octagon.

A product of the New Jersey scene, like his welterweight older brother Dan, Jim Miller made his UFC debut back in October 2008 as a highly-touted 12-1 prospect. He’s since added a 13-3 (1 NC) run from inside the Octagon, although that no contest would have remained a submission defeat had Pat Healy not failed a drug test for marijuana.  

At one point, Miller strung together a seven-fight UFC win streak, an impressive run broken by Benson Henderson in a great fight notable for Miller’s constant submission attempts and stubborn determination to ignore the fact Benson was battering him with punches most of the way.  

Incredibly tough, never knocked out in a professional fight and widely admired for his ‘anyone, anytime’ attitude to accepting fights, Miller isn’t there to make up the numbers in this high-quality matchup of top-10 fighters who both make a point of doing all they can to win and entertain the audience.

Despite picking up a wallet-fattening nine ‘Knockout...’, ‘Submission...’, ‘Fight...’ and ‘Performance of the Night’ bonuses in his 13 UFC outings, the likeable, quotable and ever-entertaining Cerrone cheerfully admits he’s mired in continual financial difficulty.  

Cerrone can be maddeningly inconsistent. He looked awfully flat and uninspired in his decision losses to Nate Diaz and Rafael Dos Anjos, and now-UFC champion Anthony Pettis took him apart inside three minutes with his speed, inventiveness and precision striking in their January 2013 fight. Still, that remains the only stoppage defeat of his 30-fight, nine-year career. Cerrone is tough, skilled and dangerous. He also fights a lot – five times in 2011, twice in 2012, four times in 2013 and this will be his third of 2014.

With seven of his 10 UFC wins in the first or second round and riding a three-fight streak that’s seen him finish quality opponents with a triangle choke (Evan Dunham), a head kick (Adriano Martins) and a rear naked choke in a cracking three-minute come-from-behind victory (Edson Barboza), he’s closing in on being a serious championship contender once again.

A fiercely determined, very active fighter who’s no stranger to the UFC bonus system himself – he’s picked up six for ‘Fight...’ and ‘Submission of the Night’ – Miller’s ground-oriented approach has worked well for him, although when matched up with the division’s best, he’s generally fallen short.  

He was repeatedly outstruck by Gray Maynard en route to a decision loss, and against Nate Diaz he was outclassed on his feet, unable to score takedowns and, for the first time in his career, forced to tap out. Win or lose – and Miller owns victories over Mac Danzig, Duane Ludwig, Gleison Tibau and Joe Lauzon – the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt with a strong high school wrestling base is almost incapable of being involved in a bad fight.

Bigger and taller, Cerrone is the more explosive of the two and although Miller is truly excellent on the mat, Cerrone is far more than just a striker. Good with submissions, he also surprisingly outwrestled Jamie Varner in their rematch. Miller is happy enough to stand with anyone, but will be looking for takedowns and to use the skills that have seen him earn submission wins over the likes of Charles Oliveira and Fabricio Camoes.  

Both men can take a beating, be in serious trouble and come back. Indeed, both did it, and won in fights with Melvin Guillard. Both can also fight all night (although Cerrone’s harsh weight-cutting can leave him tired) or finish early. Cowboy, fresh from that Barboza finish, will probably start as the bookies’ favourite when they meet on July 16th in Atlanta. But regardless of the outcome, this should be something very special.