Sounds like a good, old-fashioned Philly vs. Jersey brawl.
Jim Miller will meet prospect Paul Felder at UFC on FOX 15: Machida vs. Rockhold on April 18 in Newark, N.J., which is the shadow of the areas where both grew up. Miller is from Central New Jersey, while Felder was reared in South Philadelphia. The fight was announced Wednesday on UFC Tonight.
Miller (24-5, 1 NC) has been one of the top 10 lightweights in the UFC seemingly forever. The 31-year-old has just one loss in his last five fights and it came against Donald Cerrone in July. Before that, Miller had won two straight, finishing both Yancy Medeiros and Fabricio Camoes by slick submission.
This represents a huge step up for Felder (10-0), who moved to 2-0 in the UFC at UFC 182 on Jan. 3. On that night, Felder knocked out veteran Danny Castillo with a ferocious spinning backfist, a very early candidate for Knockout of the Year. The 29-year-old looked excellent in that fight, showing off the standup skill he helped develop training with Cerrone at Cerrone’s ranch in New Mexico. Felder also trains under Daniel Gracie in Philadelphia.
UFC on FOX 15 is headlined by a middleweight contender bout between Lyoto Machida and Luke Rockhold. A women’s bantamweight fight between Felice Herrig and Paige VanZant was also added to the card, which will be held at Prudential Center.