Tag: Jim Miller

Ben Henderson Dominates Jim Miller, Will Miller’s Opinion on the WEC Change?

Jim Miller was looking to get a title shot this weekend with a win over former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle. Miller was on a seven-fight win streak prior to his showdown with Henderson this weekend, and to say he …

Jim Miller was looking to get a title shot this weekend with a win over former WEC lightweight champion Ben Henderson at UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle. Miller was on a seven-fight win streak prior to his showdown with Henderson this weekend, and to say he was antsy for a title shot would be an understatement and rightfully so.

Unfortunately for Miller, things didn’t work out as Henderson dominated Miller through all three rounds with superior wrestling, slick submission defense and vicious ground and pound in his unanimous decision victory.

There’s a saying that applies to Miller’s loss tonight, and it goes something like “karma’s a tough one” if you get my drift.

Of course, Miller is a great fighter, and was probably deserving of a title shot without even having to go through Henderson first, but a few select statements about the former WEC lightweights now fighting in the UFC came back to haunt him in the worst way tonight.

Back in Dec. 2010, Miller told MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani in a post-fight interview what he really felt about the WEC guys coming into the UFC.

“I’ve got a really good feeling they will get weeded out pretty quickly” Miller said. “I have confidence in them, but you know there are guys in the WEC that are doing well that couldn’t hack it in the UFC.You know this is the big leagues, this is a bigger different breed of fighter than they have been fighting.”

Getting closer to his fight with Henderson, Miller wanted to clarify his position on the WEC fighters with Helwani for NBC Sports.

“The thing is, I didn’t say that they would get—I said that the top guys had the potential to do well. I didn’t think that Ben or Anthony, you know, at that point they hadn’t fought yet, were ready to come in and fight for the title because they hadn’t earned it yet.” Miller said. “I said the rest of the guys would get weeded out.”

Although Miller went back a little bit on his statements made last December, one certainly gets the feeling that Miller feels the WEC guys didn’t pay their dues.

Henderson himself remembers the statement made by Miller and gave Helwani for NBC Sports his thoughts on Miller’s statements.

“I do remember those comments it was something that stuck in my head and  I don’t know how long it has been since, but it is still in the back of my head.” Henderson said.

Henderson also stated that Miller’s opinion didn’t bother him much, but his actions in the Octagon tonight seem to tell a different story. His performance looked like the performance of a man who wanted to prove all the naysayers wrong and he did just that.

Both Miller and Henderson were respectful of each other leading up to the fight and after the fight, but during the fight, both guys were throwing strikes with bad intentions behind them.

Henderson did thoroughly dominate Miller over all three rounds, but that is not to say that Miller never had his chances. He dropped Henderson with a left hook early in round three and threatened with submissions from the bottom through out the entire fight, on one occasion going for a leg lock that looked pretty tight.

Unfortunately for Miller, Henderson has proven time and time again that he is going to be a very tough guy to submit.

Miller seems to be a genuine guy, and in the same post-fight interview with Helwani last December stated that he would never be the trash-talking fight hyper like some of the wrestlers in the WWE. The only reason he started talking a bit was because he probably felt that he needed to get the fans’ attention in order to get a title shot because a seven-fight win streak didn’t seem to do the trick.

After all is said and done, Henderson may have gone a long way to changing Miller’s opinion on the WEC lightweights from now on.

What is next for Miller? Maybe a fight with the last WEC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis or against former WEC lightweight contender Donald Cerrone who also won in spectacular fashion tonight against Charles Oliveira. In any case, hopefully for Miller’s sake it doesn’t take seven more wins before being considered for title contention again.

 

Leon Horne has been contributing to Bleacher Report MMA for three years, 

 

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Chris Lytle Completes MMA Career With Storybook Ending at UFC on Versus 5

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – Chris Lytle could not have written a much better storyline to leave the sport of mixed martial arts.

The welterweight, who made a somewhat surprising announcement less than 24 hours from his UFC on Versus 5 main even…

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Chris Lytle wins his final UFC fight at UFC on Versus 5.MILWAUKEE – Chris Lytle could not have written a much better storyline to leave the sport of mixed martial arts.

The welterweight, who made a somewhat surprising announcement less than 24 hours from his UFC on Versus 5 main event against Dan Hardy that the fight would be his last, went out with the type of fight he has become known for. And he went out with a victory, to boot.

Lytle submitted Hardy late in the third round Sunday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. And to go along with the win, he won a pair of now-record ninth and 10th fight night bonus checks – as well as a 2012 Harley-Davidson Blackline motorcycle.

“I couldn’t ask for anything better to happen,” Lytle said at the post-fight press conference. “But of course I’m pretty sad. I’ve been doing this since ’98. That’s all I know. It’s tough.”


Lytle’s career never was really a fairy tale story, but it sure seemed to end that way. When Hardy shot for a late takedown in the third round, the perfect ending to a remarkable MMA career started to take form.

Lytle latched on to a guillotine choke, after 14 minutes of standing and trading bombs with Hardy, and forced the former welterweight title challenger to tap with just 46 seconds left in the fight. Already tied for the UFC‘s all-time lead in fight night bonus awards going into the fight, Lytle was given the FIght of the Night award as well as the Submission of the Night award from UFC president Dana White. Each was worth $65,000.

Lytle, who has more than 50 pro fights in his career, as well as more than a dozen professional boxing matches, finished his UFC career at just 10-10. But it was his always-exciting style that made him a hit with fans, as evidenced by the 10 bonus awards – six for Fight of the Night, three for Submission of the Night and one for Knockout of the Night.

Lytle said he was retiring to focus on his family. The Indianapolis firefighter has four children and said it was time for him to make choices in his life that weren’t all about his fighting career. Two of Lytle’s children joined him in the cage immediately after his victory.

Hardy dropped his fourth straight fight after winning the first four fights of his UFC career. His current four-fight skid started with a loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 111 in a welterweight title fight. He said he will need to go back to the drawing board and figure out where he will take his career.

But UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta said via Twitter that Hardy will not be cut despite the four losses, saying they love fighters who go to war.

“A lot of people are three losses and out, and I’m four down now,” Hardy said. “So I appreciate (being able to stay around). If they are going to give me one more fight, I need to take some time and come back reinvented. I tried to do that with a different hair color this time, and maybe that wasn’t enough.”

In the co-main event, Jim Miller saw his lightweight winning streak end at seven with a unanimous decision loss to former WEC champ Ben Henderson. Miller (20-3, 9-2 UFC) was set to be positioned as the likely next lightweight title challenger, to meet the winner of the rematch between champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who will meet in the main event of UFC 136 on Oct. 8 in Houston. But Henderson (13-2, 2-0 UFC) threw a major wrench into that plan with a dominating victory, dismantling Miller with relative ease.

Also on the main card, another fighter making some noise in the lightweight division kept on rolling. Donald Cerrone saw his winning streak reach five with a Knockout of the Night win over Charles Oliveira. Cerrone (16-3, 1 NC, 3-0 UFC) came out blazing and stopped Oliveira (14-2, 1 NC, 2-2 UFC, 1 NC) with strikes after a big body shot.

The former WEC star has won all three of his fights in the UFC since the merger with his former home promotion at the start of the year. Oliveira has fallen on rough times his last three fights. After starting his career 14-0 and winning his first two UFC fights in Submission of the Night fashion, Oliveira has two losses and a no contest in his last three fights. The Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, just 21, has been brought along quickly with five fights in just over one year in the promotion.

 

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Ben Henderson Whips Jim Miller

Filed under: UFC, NewsJim Miller’s seven-fight winning streak has come to an end, and Ben Henderson has made an emphatic statement that he belongs in the Octagon with the upper echelon of UFC lightweights.

Henderson, the former World Extreme Cagefight…

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Jim Miller’s seven-fight winning streak has come to an end, and Ben Henderson has made an emphatic statement that he belongs in the Octagon with the upper echelon of UFC lightweights.

Henderson, the former World Extreme Cagefighting lightweight champion, dominated Miller in the second and third rounds of their fight on Sunday night, earning the biggest victory of his career while also derailing any hope Miller had of fighting for the lightweight title any time soon.


The judges scored the fight 30-26, 30-27 and 29-28 for Henderson.

In the first round both fighters showed off some high-level grappling, topped by Miller clinging to Henderson while attempting a standing side choke. One judge gave Miller the round because he had several good submission attempts, although Henderson did a nice job of fighting them off, and Henderson landed the harder strikes in the round.

The second round, however, clearly went to Henderson: Early in the second they went to the ground with Henderson on top, and Henderson landed several hard punches and elbows, opening up a cut next to Miller’s right eye. Miller was relentless in his submission attempts, going for a knee bar and a heel hook, but Henderson continued to rain the strikes down on Miller and had Miller badly hurt by the end of the second.

Miller tagged Henderson with a hard punch early in the third round, but Henderson recovered quickly and took Miller down against the cage. From there Henderson showed that he was the stronger man, staying on top and in control and hurting Miller with hard punches and elbows. Blood was getting into Miller’s eyes and making it hard for him to see, and as the fight ended Henderson celebrated, knowing he had won.

 

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UFC on Versus 5 Live Blog: Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller Updates

Filed under: UFCMILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller, a lightweight bout on tonight’s UFC card at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Miller (20-2, 9-1 UFC) comes into the fight with one of the promotion’s mo…

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Jim Miller faces Ben Henderson at UFC on Versus 5.MILWAUKEE – This is the UFC on Versus 5 live blog for Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller, a lightweight bout on tonight’s UFC card at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

Miller (20-2, 9-1 UFC) comes into the fight with one of the promotion’s most impressive winning streaks. His seven straight wins almost certainly have him in line to be the next lightweight title challenger, should he get past Henderson. The only two losses of Miller’s career have come to champion Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, whose rematch is in October. Henderson (13-2, 1-0 UFC), the former WEC lightweight champ, won his UFC debut in April and is looking to spoil Miller’s streak and his chances for a UFC title shot.

The live blog is below.


Round 1: Very important fight for the lightweight class. We touch ’em up and get swinging. Miller lands biggest first witha right-left. He seems aggressive, but Henderson clips him with a short uppercut to get his attention. They clinch up and trade some knees, and Miller is looking for a choke. He jumps onto Henderson and locks his legs around him. Henderson has an arm in, and Miller is likely to wind up on the ground from this. And he does. Henderson stays patient and takes him down. But Miller is still working for that choke – and Henderson slips out of it and looks for some short elbows. Miller pushes out from guard, but now Henderson has a chance to look for a choke. As Miller pops up, Henderson throws a great high kick that Miller partially blocks, and they tie up along the fence. Henderson drops Miller down again, and Miller looks for a triangle while holding on to Henderson’s right arm. But Henderson pops out, lands a couple shots from his feet, then dives in looking for a guillotine. It’s not there, and now MILLER gets a chance to work on another one. Henderson pops his head out pretty quickly, though, and lands some ground and pound from half guard. It’s a highly entertaining first round, and we’ll give it to Henderson 10-9.

Round 2: We’re back to more of the same, trading big punches and kicks. They clinch up around a minute in, and Henderson bullies Miller to the ground again. Looks like Miller is cut above his right eye. Henderson has hiim on the ground and is landing some good shots there. Miller tries to roll out, and his head is leaving a lot of blood on the canvas. Henderson sees it and goes to work, landing strikes as Miller reaches for an ankle. HE’s got it. He’s twisting, but Henderson tells Josh Rosenthal he’s OK. He stays calm, and he works right out of it. Back on the ground, Miller looks for a guillotine, but Henderson pops out of that and Miller again looks for an ankle. Henderson makes him pay, landing big shots. He then starts teeing off, then shootsin and slams MIller back down. He’s absolutely dismantling him. Miller survives, and he again looks for any submission he can find. But Henderson is just not having it. It’s another 10-9 round for Henderson, and the crowd goes absolutely ballistic for the former WEC champ.

Round 3: Henderson gestures to the crowd for support, and it responds. He touches gloves with Miller and Round 3 is underway. Miller has got to think he’ll need a finish to send his winning streak to eight. The two trade strikes, and Henderson checks a kick and counters with a big shot that drops Miller. Miller pops back up and lands a short elbow that has Henderson wincing. A Miller left is timed perfectly with what appears to be a Henderson slip, more than a real knockdown. Miller pounces, but Henderson gets up and bullies him back to the canvas, where he then postures up and lands some heavy hands right in front of his own corner. Miller is covering up, giving his back, in defense mode Miller tries to slam him, drops him on his head … and Henderson sinks in a rear naked choke. Miller survives it for now, but with two minutes left he’s in a lot of trouble and eating Henderson ground and pound like crazy. Rosenthal watches closely. Henderson gets to side control, then pushes Miller to the fence and lands some more big blows. Miller is pretty bloody, and he’s holding on for dear life. It looks like he’s gassed, and with 30 seconds the crowd goes nuts for Henderson and his impending victory. Henderson flips Miller over and has a guillotine and is still looking to finish. He can’t, but back on the feet he still swings for the fences. It’s a 10-9 for Henderson, a huge wrench in the lightweight division, and a 30-27 win for him on our card.

Result: Ben Henderson def. Jim Miller, unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-26)

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Ben Henderson Hasn’t Forgotten Pettis, but Comfortable With His UFC Standing

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – Alanis Morrisette would call it ironic. Don’t you think?

Eight months after taking an Anthony Pettis slapshot of a foot to the face, in what many consider the greatest single move in MMA history, Ben Henderson has to …

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MILWAUKEE – Alanis Morrisette would call it ironic. Don’t you think?

Eight months after taking an Anthony Pettis slapshot of a foot to the face, in what many consider the greatest single move in MMA history, Ben Henderson has to show up and fight in Milwaukee – Pettis’ home turf, where he is the city’s most beloved fighter.

But even though he is permanently tattooed with the memory of that Pettis kick off the cage at WEC 53 in December, one minute before Pettis took his WEC lightweight title and retired it, Henderson is just fine with how his career has progressed so far.

“I’ve taken baby steps all along in my career and it’s prepared me for the next step in all my fights,” Henderson said Friday after a short workout in Milwaukee. “I think this is just the next step, to be honest. It’s a good opportunity for me to play upset and I’m excited for it.”

If he’s to play upset, as he says, it won’t be a major one. Despite Jim Miller‘s seven-fight winning streak, and an almost certain lightweight title shot if he beats Henderson on Sunday at UFC on Versus 5, Miller is only about a 1.5-to-1 favorite in the fight.

Henderson (13-2, 1-0 UFC) rebounded from his loss at the WEC’s final event, which came in his backyard just outside Phoenix, and topped Mark Bocek at UFC 129 in Toronto in April. He said there were no first-time UFC jitters thanks to those baby steps he’s taken all along. But now he believes all the pressure is on Miller (20-2, 9-1 UFC).

“I think the onus is on him,” Henderson said. “If he wins, he for sure gets a title shot. If I win, good for me, but it’s not a guaranteed title shot.”

As for Pettis, who lost to Clay Guida in June in his UFC debut after being put on hold for his immediate UFC lightweight title shot thanks to the Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard draw, Henderson hasn’t forgotten the kick. And he wonders if Pettis was exposed by Guida.

“He did a spectacular move, got a lot of attention for it, he’s a great fighter – but a lot of times when you do those flashy moves, you’re elevated a little higher than your actual standing, perhaps,” Henderson said. “He was really highly elevated, and Clay Guida found a weakness in his game. I’m sure right now Pettis is in his gym working on his takedown defense.”

Henderson isn’t sure how the Milwaukee fans will react to him Sunday. But he is sure he’ll get a chance for payback against Pettis, or at least his right foot.

“Pettis’ biggest highlight reel is against my face,” Henderson said. “So his fans know who I am. … Before I retire, he and I will dance again. I’ve got something special in store for that fight.”

Henderson fights Jim Miller on Sunday in the co-main event of UFC on Versus 5 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The main card airs live on Versus at 9 p.m. Eastern.

 

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Watch UFC on Versus 5 Weigh-In Video and Chris Lytle/Dan Hardy Staredown

The UFC goes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for its fifth Versus show and it’s bringing a main event with two fighters in Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy who will be looking to pick up much-needed victories.All fighters weighed-in today and were all on weight. Har…

The UFC goes to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for its fifth Versus show and it’s bringing a main event with two fighters in Chris Lytle and Dan Hardy who will be looking to pick up much-needed victories.

All fighters weighed-in today and were all on weight. Hardy initially missed the 170-pound limit on his first attempt but made weight on his second attempt.

Currently riding a three-fight losing streak, Hardy (23-9) takes on MMA veteran Lytle (30-18-5) in a welterweight bout.

This is one of the few fights that doesn’t promise a knockout because of the two competitors’ chins, but it does promise to be non-stop action.

Lytle has never been finished in a career of more than 50 fights while Hardy has only been knocked out once in 30-plus bouts, which includes a five-round championship bout with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.

The fights begin at 9 p.m. ET on Versus. The preliminary bouts will be available on Facebook at 4:45 p.m. ET.

Complete Weigh-in Results:

MAIN CARD (Versus)

Dan Hardy (170) vs. Chris Lytle (170.5)

Ben Henderson (156) vs. Jim Miller (155.5)

Donald Cerrone (156) vs. Charles Oliveira (155)

Duane Ludwig (170.5) vs. Amir Sadollah (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jared Hamman  (185)

Joseph Benavidez (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)

Ed Herman (186) vs. Kyle Noke (185)

Ronny Markes (205) vs. Karlos Vemola (205.5)

Alex Caceres (146) vs. Jim Hettes (145.5)

Cole Miller (155) vs. T.J. O’Brien (155.5)

Danny Castillo (156) vs. Jacob Volkmann (156)

Edwin Figueroa (136) vs. Jason Reinhardt (135)

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