MILWAUKEE – The logjam in the UFC lightweight division thanks to the Frankie Edgar–Gray Maynard draw has been far-reaching.
Clay Guida knows plenty about it. He’s been on one of the division’s best tears, with four straight wins. But if he wants a title shot, he’s got to wait until the dust finally settles.
After dismantling Anthony Pettis in June, Guida positioned himself for a possible title shot. But he believes Jim Miller is ahead of him in line, and he has no problem waiting for his moment to come.
“Jim Miller is the frontrunner, and maybe Ben Henderson – we’ll see what happens tomorrow night,” Guida said Saturday during a fan Q&A in Milwaukee. “I’m not in a rush. I’ll be (in the UFC) five years in October. When the time comes, we’ll be ready and it’ll be the most exciting lightweight title fight you’ve ever seen.”
Miller and Henderson fight in the co-main event of UFC on Versus 5 in Milwaukee on Sunday. Miller’s seven-fight lightweight winning streak has him likely next in line for the Edgar-Maynard winner, but a Henderson upset could throw a wrench in the works – and could open the door for Guida.
Guida said he does not yet have his next fight booked – perhaps a strategic move on the UFC’s part, waiting to see what happens between Miller and Henderson.
But Guida has no qualms with saying Miller is ahead of him in line – even though Miller hasn’t been named the official next title challenger yet.
“Jim Miller’s just been a wrecking ball,” Guida said. “He ran through Kamal Shalorus, which I thought would be his toughest test. It’s an interesting matchup. I’ve won four in a row, but right now Jim Miller is the frontrunner for next contender. But don’t sell Ben Henderson short. He’s a gamer.”
MILWAUKEE – Jim Miller can join the club when it comes to being frustrated with the UFC‘s lightweight title situation.
Only three fighters have been in the race for the last 18 months – BJ Penn, Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard. Penn lost to Edgar, then got a rematch, which Edgar won. And Edgar and Maynard’s January draw forced a rematch for this October, when both will have recovered from training injuries.
Meanwhile, Miller sits in a pack with the likes of Clay Guida and, before him, Anthony Pettis, wondering when’s gonna be his time. With a seven-fight winning streak going into his co-main event fight against Ben Henderson on Sunday at UFC on Versus 5, Miller is ready for eight to be enough to get him the winner of Edgar-Maynard. And if not? He’ll keep doing what he’s doing.
“I can’t look past any of my opponents,” Miller said Friday after a workout in Milwaukee. “I feel that I’m ready to be recognized as the best lightweight in the world. I kind of have my opportunity to prove it. Anybody they put in there against me, I’m going to be able to beat. Hopefully this is the one, but we’ll see. We’ll see the way it goes and see what happens down the road.”
Miller (20-2, 9-1 UFC) hasn’t lost since a unanimous decision setback to Maynard at UFC 96 in March 2009. His only other pro defeat? It’s rather perfect that it came at the hands of Edgar, losing the New Jersey-based Realty Fighting lightweight belt.
His seven-fight tear through the UFC since his loss to Maynard includes four stoppages, including a TKO against Kamal Shalorus in March and a Submission of the Night win over submission specialist Charles Oliveira last December.
And even though seven straight wins in the lightweight division would normally be enough to get a crack at some gold – the only longer current streaks in the UFC belong to champs Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva – the alternative of sitting on the sideline hoping he gets a shot later hasn’t really appealed to him, either.
“I’m here to fight the best, and I know I can beat anybody in the world,” Miller said. “Basically, I’m just getting opportunities to show it. The way the title picture has worked out these last couple fights, with BJ and Frankie, and now all the stuff going on with Frankie and Gray, you can’t expect anything. You just have to wait it out and let those guys settle it. In the meantime, I’ve been happy taking these fights and fighting tough guys and working my butt off so I can beat them.”
Against Henderson, Miller gets an opponent who perhaps has a little something extra to prove on Sunday. Henderson (13-2, 1-0 UFC) was lightweight champ in the WEC, and Miller was critical of the WEC’s lightweights when they merged into the UFC at the start of this year – believing they were a second tier of competition to their big brothers in the bigger show.
And though he may not be ready to take back completely what he said, he does admit Henderson proved himself worthy of UFC lightweight status with his win over Mark Bocek at UFC 129 in April.
Miller also has a win over Bocek at UFC 111. But the New Jersey-based fighter said if Henderson is only using their mutual fights with Bocek for comparison, he’s in trouble.
“He definitely fought Mark a lot more conservative than I did,” Miller said. “I know that if I had tried to stall it out on the mat, I could’ve done it. But I wanted to sub him out. I put him in danger a couple times. But time has passed. I think if Ben thinks he is fighting the same Jim Miller that fought Mark (in March 2010), he’s going to be in for a rude awakening on Sunday night.”
Miller and Henderson fight Sunday in the co-main event of UFC on Versus 5 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wis., the UFC’s debut in the state. The main card airs live on the Versus cable channel at 9 p.m. Eastern.
What does Jim Miller have to do to get noticed? He’s currently riding a seven-fight win streak that includes wins over a former TUF winner and one of the most hyped prospects in the division, he’s finished his last two fights in highly impressive fashi…
What does Jim Miller have to do to get noticed?
He’s currently riding a seven-fight win streak that includes wins over a former TUF winner and one of the most hyped prospects in the division, he’s finished his last two fights in highly impressive fashion, and he’s sporting a 20-2 record with his only losses coming at the hands of the current champion and No. 1 contender.
Yet, somehow his fight with former WEC champion Ben Henderson has been subjected to co-main event status behind a fight between two guys coming off losses who are nowhere near title contention. Huh?
Not taking away anything from Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle, as they are both tremendously entertaining and will almost certainly provide us with a memorable fight on Sunday, but it makes no sense to have a potential No. 1 contender get second billing on a free TV card.
If Miller was a boring fighter, a case could be made to stick him behind some well known names, but he has done nothing but improve all aspects of his game as of late and his last couple fights have been highly entertaining.
If the UFC wants to build up contenders and marketable fighters in the lighter weight classes, this would seem like the perfect opportunity to do so. The fight is on free TV, there are plenty of other marketable names on the card (including Hardy and former TUF winner Amir Sadollah), and throwing a guaranteed slug-fest like Hardy-Lytle on before the main event would entice viewers to remain tuned in.
It seems like the UFC has dropped the ball with Miller so far, but if he wins this weekend, he deserves his shot at redemption against whoever comes out of the UFC 136 title fight.
He is a completely different fighter than the guy who lost to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, and a win over a former WEC champion would add a huge amount of credibility to an already good resume.
Jim Miller has proven he belongs inside the Octagon with the best in the division. If he wins on Sunday, let’s hope he steals Joe Rogan’s microphone and demands a title shot from Dana White and Joe Silva.
Last night was possibly the best PPV of the year so far.Carlos Condit showed he belongs at the top of the division.Tito Ortiz showed he’s got a bit of gas left in the tank.It was shown yet again that MMA judging needs improvement.Chris Leben ended the …
Last night was possibly the best PPV of the year so far.
Carlos Condit showed he belongs at the top of the division.
Tito Ortiz showed he’s got a bit of gas left in the tank.
It was shown yet again that MMA judging needs improvement.
Chris Leben ended the career of a legend.
Dominick Cruz avenged his only career loss and put on a hell of a fight with Urjiah Faber in the process.
Aside from all that though, there were two major lightweight fights that took place, with Dennis Siver taking on Matt Wiman, and Melvin Guillard taking on Shane Roller.
Siver won a controversial decision, but Guillard left no doubt about his win, by leaving Roller unconscious on the mat.
Read on to see how this mixed up the lightweight ranks.
Dana White met with the media following Thursday’s UFC 132 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas. Below are some notes from the media scrum:
* White had no idea that ProElite has opened up shop again. “Good for them,” White said. “T. Jay [Thompson] …
Dana White met with the media following Thursday’s UFC 132 pre-fight press conference in Las Vegas. Below are some notes from the media scrum:
* White had no idea that ProElite has opened up shop again. “Good for them,” White said. “T. Jay [Thompson] has been involved in some great fights — SuperBrawl — I would call him an early pioneer of the sport. Good for him.”
* No main event has been signed for UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston yet.
* White said he won’t let his personal feelings get in the way of inducting Tito Ortiz into the UFC Hall of Fame.
* White is leaning towards matching up Nik Lentz and Charles Oliveira again after their UFC on Versus 4 fight was changed to a no contest. White added that he didn’t think the illegal knee thrown by Oliveira was intentional.
* White didn’t know if the Jake Shields vs. Jake Ellenberger fight will main event the “Battle on the Bayou” event on Sept. 17 in New Orleans. The UFC recently announced that the fight will be a three-rounder, leading to speculation that it won’t headline the SpikeTV card.
* White recently returned from a press event in Brazil to promote UFC 134, and was surprised at how little the local media knew about the sport. “Very little knowledge about the sport amongst the media down there,” he said, “which is the same thing here, but there you wouldn’t expect that.” He then paused and said with a smile, “that wasn’t a dig at you guys. The other media.”
One preliminary fight that could steal the show at UFC 132 will pit the striking ability of “The Young Assassin” Melvin Guillard against the wrestling ability of Shane Roller. This match is extremely valuable for both individuals because a win places o…
One preliminary fight that could steal the show at UFC 132 will pit the striking ability of “The Young Assassin” Melvin Guillard against the wrestling ability of Shane Roller. This match is extremely valuable for both individuals because a win places one of them at the top of the lightweight rankings with a possible positioning for a top contender spot.
Shane Roller possesses the one attribute that has been the Achilles heel of Melvin Guillard which of course is the ability to take the fight to the ground. Roller was a three-time Division 1 All-American wrestler from Oklahoma State University and captained the 2003 NCAA championship team.
Roller has proven his ability to finish fights once he gets his opponent to the ground and will look to do the same to Guillard. Out of Roller’s 10 wins, six of them have come via either guillotine or rear-naked chokes.
Though he has won the majority of his fights when they have touched the ground, Roller displayed knockout punching power also. Against Thiago Tavares, Roller threw a straight right hand that ended Tavares’ night which earned his third win by knockout in his UFC debut.
Don’t expect Roller to stand and trade with Guillard because if we are talking about punching power, make no mistake, Melvin Guillard is the most dangerous striker in the lightweight division. Guillard blends a mixture of power and speed that is unmatched in the division.
Guillard has proven this by posting 18 wins by form of knockout in 28 wins. This all depends on which record you reference of course as the UFC has him listed at 45-9-3 with one no-contest.
Of his eight professional losses, Guillard has been submitted seven times. This has been seemingly the only weakness that he displays but where there is a weakness, there is a solution.
The solution for Guillard is the fact that he has acknowledged this fact and taken the proper steps to improve upon it. Guillard joined up with Greg Jackson after a submission loss to Nate Diaz and hasn’t looked back since.
Guillard has won all four fights since joining with Greg Jackson. Not only has his submission defense improved but his all-around game has too. Guillard has shown greater patience and probably turned in the best performances of his career during his tenure with Jackson.
A win for either fighter puts them in the most congested title picture possibly ever seen. Contenders such as Ben Henderson, Dennis Siver, Jim Miller, Clay Guida and Gray Maynard are all awaiting their chance at lightweight champion Frankie Edgar.
A win for Roller puts him right in the mix with the contenders previously mentioned but a dominant win for Guillard could leap-frog him to the very top of the division.
MILWAUKEE – The logjam in the UFC lightweight division thanks to the Frankie Edgar–Gray Maynard draw has been far-reaching. 
MILWAUKEE – 
What does Jim Miller have to do to get noticed?
Dana White