UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller
Fight fans are treated to a rare midweek card on Wednesday as the Ultimate Fighting Championship lands of the Jersey Shore.
The Revel in Atlantic City, N.J., will play host to UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller, an 11-fight card that’s heavy on lightweight action. No fewer than five fights will see combatants from the 155lbs division looking to improve their current standing.
Headlining the event is a matchup between sixth-ranked Donald Cerrone and seventh-ranked Jim Miller, a fight that should come fully loaded with offensive fireworks.
Cerrone vs. Miller
No. 6 Donald Cerrone (23-6-0, 1NC, 10-3-0 UFC) enters the bout on the back of three straight victories, a winning streak that has seen ‘The Cowboy’ receive post-fight bonuses in each bout.
Last time out, the 31-year-old took performance of the night honors with a first round submission of Edson Barboza, utilizing a rear-naked choke to score a 15th submission in his professional career. Prior to that bout, which came on April 19, Cerrone earned a KO victory over Adriano Martins and a submission victory over Evan Dunham.
Cerrone will enter the bout confident he can climb the standings, eventually earning a shot at the championship, currently held by Anthony Pettis. Confidence alone won’t be enough on Wednesday night.
No. 7 Jim Miller (24-4-0, 1NC, 13-3-0, 1NC UFC) won’t be pulling any punches as he looks to leapfrog Cerrone in the standings.
Miller enters the Octagon on Wednesday having won two straight and three of his last four. The fourth saw the 30-year-old submit to Pat Healy, only for the result to be overturned after the latter tested positive for banned substances.
In his last bout back on April 26, Miller submitted Yancy Medeiros with a guillotine choke in the first round, giving the New Jersey native a 13th professional victory by submission.
With both fighters specializing in submission victories, and both perfectly capable of banging, expect this to be a close bout. Both fighters have got the job done continually, and have only lost bouts to the very best competition out there.
In addition to losing to Edgar, Miller fell to Gray Maynard (decision), Benson Henderson (decision), and Nate Diaz (submission). Cerrone also lost to Diaz (decision) as well as Anthony Pettis (TKO), and Rafael dos Anjos (decision).
Miller will hope fighting on home soil proves to be an advantage. Born 150 miles north of Atlantic City in Sparta Township, N.J., Miller is 8-1-0 when fighting in AC, having spent much of his pre-UFC career there. That one loss – his first professional loss – came against Frankie Edgar back in 2006.
Cerrone has never fought in Atlantic City or the state of New Jersey.
Odds: Cerrone (-250) enters the contest as the favorite over Miller (+195).
Barboza vs. Dunham
In the co-main event of the evening, a second pair of lightweights will take to the Octagon as No. 13 Edson Barboza (13-2-0, 7-2-0 UFC) battles unranked Evan Dunham (14-5-0, 7-5-0 UFC).
As fate would have it, both fighters enter this bout coming off losses to headliner Cerrone, and will be looking to bounce back.
Barboza’s loss to Cerrone in April put paid to a three-fight winning streak that included wins over Danny Castillo (decision), Rafaello Oliveira (TKO), and Lucas Martins (submission), a trio of victories that displayed the 28-year-old’s well-rounded game.
After losing to Cerrone in November, Dunham pulled out of his last scheduled fight – due to take place in April – as a result of injury. He’ll be hoping the nine-month layoff doesn’t bring ring rust with it as he looks to record a rare win.
Dunham has lost three of his last four bouts, and is 3-5 since beginning his UFC career 4-0. That sort of record isn’t likely to keep the Oregon native in the big time for long, arguably making Wednesday’s fight more important for the 32-year-old than his opponent.
Barboza is a knockout specialist whilst Dunham has had more success with submissions, making this an intriguing battle of MMA chess.
The Brazilian Barboza is 2-0 when fighting in Atlantic City. He also picked up a win in Newark, N.J., at UFC 128. Dunham has yet to fight in the Garden State.
Odds: Barboza (-265) is favored over Dunham (+205).
In Brief
- All 22 fighters involved in Wednesday night’s event made weight at yesterday’s official weigh-in.
- History will be made in Atlantic City with the first ever bout in the women’s strawweight division. Cláudia Gadelha (11-0-0) faces Tina Tina Lähdemäki  (5-0-0) in the 115lbs curtain raiser.
- FOX Sports 1 will air the main card (from 9:00 p.m. ET) and preliminary card (from 7:00 p.m. ET), while the early preliminary bout will be broadcast on UFC Fight Pass (6:30 p.m. ET).
Bet on UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs. Miller
Following Wednesday night’s event in New Jersey, the UFC will return this Saturday with UFC Fight Night: McGregor vs. Brandao, scheduled to take place at The O2 in Dublin, Ireland.
