The UFC rolls into Atlantic City on July 16th with their Fight Night series and a card headlined by a Lightweight match up between Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller. When a line gets put out at the sport books, it will be a very close line as the match-up is one that could go either way.
Cerrone has won three fights in a row in the UFC for the first time since he pulled off the trick in 2011. Losses to Anthony Pettis, Rafael Dos Anjos and and Nate Diaz all helped to slow Cerrone’s upward momentum. But on this recent winning streak, Cerrone has taken out Edson Barbosa, Adriano Martins and Evan Dunham, as in stopped them cold. He has done it with his fists and with his ground fighting, and a win over Miller would see Cerrone start to get mentioned again as a top 5 contender.
Miller has a similar story, as he came into the UFC and promptly went 9-1 before losing momentum by losing 2 of his next 3. He is 3-0 with a no contest in his last 4, so he seems to have righted the ship. The NC is a loss to Pat Healy that was overturned due to Pat smoking pot with some friends. It was a troubling loss as Healy was able to impose his will on Miller.
Both guys have excellent records with more than 20 wins, so experience is probably a wash, though a long fight may favor Miller’s style overall. Miller will also have a comfortable home field advantage, being a Jersey resident, but Cerrone is unlikely to be affected by that.
Cerrone’s recent streak has been impressive in that he has seemingly found that fire and anger that helps him finish fights. He has been in incredible condition lately, and that fire doesn’t fade as much as the fight goes on, and he has matured a bit, avoiding some of the out of the octagon issues that seemed to plague him just a few years back.
Miller has been a finisher as well, though his competition level was lower. This match is going to come down to the fighter that gets off first, making the under worthy of a look if it is beyond the first round!
