Tag: Jim Miller

UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: What Ben Henderson Must Do To Beat Jim Miller

Ben Henderson has come something of a long way in such a short time.Last year he had come off of two submission wins (one over Jamie Varner and one over Donald Cerrone) to face Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at WEC 53.Almost one year later, Henderson is com…

Ben Henderson has come something of a long way in such a short time.

Last year he had come off of two submission wins (one over Jamie Varner and one over Donald Cerrone) to face Anthony “Showtime” Pettis at WEC 53.

Almost one year later, Henderson is coming off of a loss to Pettis and a big UFC 129 win over Mark Bocek to face Jim Miller at UFC on Versus 5: Hardy vs. Lytle.

Now if there’s one thing you must know off the bat, it’s that both men have a way of going for the finish, and that way of going for the finish is the submission.

Miller scored his first real TKO-by-strikes-type win over Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128, and he has shown improvements in his striking as well as some beautiful Jiu-Jitsu and aggression in his offense.

The only problem with Henderson is that Henderson has been locked in some of the tightest submissions ever, and yet he’s looked like he was waiting on a cup of coffee with a stoic glare in his eyes.

He has shown a high threshold of pain when it comes to submissions, and even though his guillotine choke on Jamie Varner had the arm locked in as well, his power seemed all conspicuous when he forced Varner to tap from that tight submission.

Must he wear down Miller and try show his strength in submission form to beat his seasoned foe come Sunday?

Absolutely.

Standing with Miller might be a mistake, and much like Miller, Henderson is a master of submission offense even if the fight hits the ground.

However, Henderson’s only shot is to take the fight to the ground himself, or show that he can maintain his composure from off his back and transition to Miller’s back for either a rear naked choke attempt, the second Twister in the UFC, or even just a chance to flatten Miller out and lay in some ground and pound.

Anything is possible when two submission specialists take the fight to the ground, but Henderson may benefit from being the one to get it to the ground first.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Versus 5 Fight Card: What Jim Miller Must Do to Beat Ben Henderson

When the WEC merged with the UFC last year, one of the first non-title fights people talked about was Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller.Miller was seen as a surefire contender to fight the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard, and Ben Henderson had just com…

When the WEC merged with the UFC last year, one of the first non-title fights people talked about was Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller.

Miller was seen as a surefire contender to fight the winner of Frankie Edgar-Gray Maynard, and Ben Henderson had just come off of his too-close-to-call-before-the-Showtime-Kick title bout at WEC 53, in which Anthony Pettis defeated him by unanimous decision.

After Henderson’s unanimous decision win against Mark Bocek at UFC 129 and Miller’s third-round TKO of Kamal Shalorus at UFC 128, it seemed natural that they would collide to determine who would threaten the UFC Lightweight Champion, whomever that may be.

Now the battle is finally happening tomorrow night at UFC on Versus 5, and the question now is, “What does Jim Miller have to do to beat Ben Henderson?”

That’s probably the best possible question to ask, and it’s also possibly the most challenging, because even though Miller is two fights deeper than Henderson and has never tapped out or passed out, Henderson has been locked in some of the tightest submissions ever, and yet he would not go down.

Henderson passed out to an Anaconda Choke once, but to get Henderson to tap out, you might have to have a metal rod in your arm somewhere—or you might have to be the size of “Butterbean” Eric Esch.

To put it another way, Jim Miller must do something similar to what he did with Shalorus, and stand with Henderson if he wants to beat him.

Clearly, Miller is no K-1 level striker, and I don’t think he ever will be a K-1 level striker, but his stand-up is good enough to where he can mix up his punches with some brutal knees and a few checking leg kicks and frustrate Henderson at the least.

Oh, and did we mention that Miller is as aggressive as they come, and will not relent until he has Henderson finished?

If you don’t believe it for a minute, watch Miller on Saturday.

Whether he knocks Henderson out or not, he will hurt Ben Henderson, and it will look like Henderson took a trip to Hell and back…and maybe even back to Hell.

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

UFC on Versus 5 Weigh-in Results: Dan Hardy Needs Three Tries to Make Limit

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – Dan Hardy got perhaps the loudest ovation at Saturday’s UFC weigh-ins – even though he wore Chicago Bears orange in green-and-gold Packers country. (OK, maybe it was meant to be Harley-Davidson orange.)

But Hardy, spo…

Filed under: ,

MILWAUKEE – Dan Hardy got perhaps the loudest ovation at Saturday’s UFC weigh-ins – even though he wore Chicago Bears orange in green-and-gold Packers country. (OK, maybe it was meant to be Harley-Davidson orange.)

But Hardy, sporting bright orange for his signature mohawk, missed weight for his welterweight bout against Midwesterner Chris Lytle, weighing in at 171.5 pounds even after dropping four pairs of trunks that he wore for show. Lytle weighed in at 170.5 for the main event of Sunday’s UFC on Versus 5 card.

After the official weigh-in event concluded, Hardy was able to make not just 171 pounds, but 170, the UFC confirmed. Hardy took to his Twitter feed, saying, “Not sure what happend there, I was on weight when I left the hotel!”

All 22 of the other fighters on the card successfully hit their marks at the weigh-ins, which took place outside the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee.

Hardy is looking to snap a three-fight losing streak that started with a welterweight title fight loss to Georges St-Pierre last year. Lytle is coming off his first loss in five fights, a decision setback to Brian Ebersole in February. Both men have said they want to put a Fight of the Night-type performance on, promising to stand in the pocket and trade.

Jim Miller and Ben Henderson fight in the co-main event, an important bout that might determine the next top contender in the lightweight division. Miller comes in on a seven-fight winning streak, tops in the UFC outside champions St-Pierre and Anderson Silva. A win is likely to assure him a shot at the Frankie Edgar–Gray Maynard rematch winner in October. Henderson, the former lightweight champ in the WEC, won his UFC debut in April against Mark Bocek. And while an upset of Miller wouldn’t likely get him a title shot, it would throw a wrench into the division. Though for the second straight fight, Henderson had to strip down to make his mark, he eventually weighed in at 156. Miller came in at 155.5.

Also on the main card, Donald Cerrone and Charles Oliveira had one of the afternoon’s more intense staredowns after leaving the scale, though they did shake hands. Cerrone said Friday he finds his opponent to be cocky thanks to a smirk he gave him earlier in the week. Cerrone has won four straight in the lightweight division – two to close out his WEC career and his first two as part of the UFC. The former WEC star won five Fight of the Night bonuses with that promotion, and a third straight UFC win would likely elevate his name into future title talk. Cerrone was 156; Oliveira weighed 155.

The complete weigh-in results are below:

Main Card
Dan Hardy (170*) vs. Chris Lytle (170.5)
Jim Miller (155.5) vs. Ben Henderson (156)
Charles Oliveira (155) vs. Donald Cerrone (156)
Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Duane Ludwig (170.5)
Preliminary Card
C.B. Dollaway (186) vs. Jared Hamman (185)
Joseph Benavidez (135.5) vs. Eddie Wineland (136)
Ed Herman (186) vs. Kyle Noke (185)
Karlos Vemola (205.5) vs. Ronny Markes (205)
Alex Caceres (146) vs. Jim Hettes (145.5)
Cole Miller (155.5) vs. T.J. O’Brien (155.5)
Jacob Volkmann (156) vs. Danny Castillo (156)
Edwin Figueroa (136) vs. Jason Reinhardt (135)

* Hardy missed weight on his first try. After removing his trunks, he was still 171.5. On his third try, after the official weigh-in event, he made 170.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

UFC on Versus 5 Weigh-in Results and Reaction

The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.
The main event features a surefire scrap…

The official weigh-ins for UFC on Versus 5 will go down today at 5 p.m. EST at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Live results from the event will be posted below as the fighters tip the scales.

The main event features a surefire scrap between exciting welterweight sluggers Dan Hardy and Chris Lytle. It’s do-or-die for Hardy, who has lost his last three fights. Lytle hopes to rebound from his upset loss at UFC 127 to Brian Ebersole.

The co-main event holds more weight than the headliner. Top lightweight contenders Jim Miller and Ben Henderson will battle it out to possibly decide the next No. 1 contender for the UFC title.

As is custom, all of the preliminary bouts will stream live on the UFC’s Facebook page at 5:45 p.m. EST before the main card goes live on Versus at 9 p.m. EST.

 

Main Card

*Dan Hardy (171.5) vs. Chris Lytle (170.5)

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

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

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

 

Prelims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

* Did not make weight on the first attempt

Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com

Donald Cerrone Channels Old Jamie Varner Disdain Ahead of Charles Oliveira

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – Donald Cerrone may not have been more riled up any time in his career than he was before his rematch with Jamie Varner last September.

“Cowboy” seethed through his post-workout interviews at WEC 51. He got right in V…

Filed under: ,

MILWAUKEE – Donald Cerrone may not have been more riled up any time in his career than he was before his rematch with Jamie Varner last September.

“Cowboy” seethed through his post-workout interviews at WEC 51. He got right in Varner’s face at the weigh-ins. And he then tore right through his old nemesis in the fight.

Cerrone said then that fighting angry was something he had no problem doing. Against Charles Oliveira on Sunday at UFC on Versus 5, he doesn’t have nearly the same level of animosity. But that doesn’t mean he won’t try to seek it out to give him an advantage when the Octagon door closes.

“I can’t wait to get in the ring and see his cocky (butt) standing across from me,” Cerrone said Friday after a workout at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee. “I saw him looking at me the the other day smirking, and that, to me, is cocky. I’ll smirk in the ring, you smirk back. I fight better angry.”

Cerrone (15-3, 1 NC, 2-0 UFC) has put together a respectable four-fight winning streak, all in dominant fashion. He closed out his WEC career with a win over Varner and a submission of Chris Horodecki at the promotion’s swan song show in December. He opened his UFC career, post-merger, with a submission of Paul Kelly in February and a kickboxing clinic decision over Vagner Rocha in June – that Cerrone said he wasn’t fond of his performance in that fight.

A self-described “slow starter,” Cerrone said he looks back on the rage he experienced before his rematch with Varner last year and is trying to channel it for Oliveira (14-1, 1 NC, 2-1 UFC, 1 NC).

“I try to get my mind in the same mindset as I had for Varner because when I fought Varner … there was nothing he could have done, in my mind, to beat me. I was invincible,” Cerrone said. “Getting myself back in that mindset where no one can touch me, that’s what I’m looking to get back to. What did I do, mentally, to get in that mindset? … This guy has nothing for me. What am I gonna do? That’s the mindset I’m in for this fight. There’s blood in my eyes, and I’m ready.”

With fellow lightweights Jim Miller and Ben Henderson fighting one spot up the card, and Miller’s seven-fight winning streak putting him in line for a possible title shot, Cerrone said getting a title shot isn’t something that is realistically on his mind. (Though he did joke that a Miller loss to Henderson would mess up the UFC’s possible plan, and he’d gladly take a crack at the title in that instance.)

Instead, Cerrone, who had five Fight of the Night bonuses in his 10 career WEC fights, and already has one in his two bouts in the UFC, is happen to put on crowd-pleasing performances every time he steps in the cage.

“Just go in there and fight, man,” Cerrone said. “Go in there and fight your (butt) off, like you’ve got nothing to lose. That’s what people want to see. They want to see you sit in that pocket and throw down and just take punches and give ’em right back. That’s fun. That’s when it’s a good time. Sh-ttin’ and gettin’ and goin’ hard. I hope this weekend, we can do that.”

Cerrone and Oliveira fight on the main card of UFC on Versus 5 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. The main card airs live on the Versus cable channel at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

After Ben Henderson, Jim Miller Hopes Eight Is Enough for UFC Title Shot

Filed under: UFC, NewsMILWAUKEE – 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. P…

Filed under: ,

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.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments