The UFC is set to return to Atlantic City, and the stakes are high for a variety of reasons. Rankings, reputation and history highlight an intriguing card at Revel Casino.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Watch UFC Fight Night: Cerrone vs Miller starting at 7 p.m. EST on Sportsnet 360
Lightweight showdown in main event
Donald Cerrone is riding a three-fight win streak heading into his bout against Jim Miller. Those three victories saw him score a Submission of the Night versus Evan Dunham, a Knockout of the Night against Adriano Martins and a Performance of the Night over Edson Barboza. It’s safe to say “Cowboy” is riding high, but come Wednesday night the usual fan favourite will likely be booed on his way to the Octagon.
Cerrone will be facing off against New Jersey native Miller, who will likely be cheered relentlessly by the hometown crowd. Miller has won three of his last four bouts, two of which were submission finishes, one an incredible decision victory in the 2012 Fight of the Year candidate against Joe Lauzon. The other was a no-contest, after his loss to Pat Healy was overturned because “Bam Bam” tested positive for marijuana.
Miller has only been finished once in his career, a submission loss to Nate Diaz. Cerrone has 15 submission wins on his resume, as well as three TKOs. On the flip side, Donald has only been finished twice, once by submission and once via TKO (a body kick by Anthony Pettis), while Miller has 13 victories by submission and three by TKO.
Are you confused yet? Well something has to give here.
Cerrone is five inches taller than Miller and has a two-inch reach advantage. On paper, he throws and lands more strikes than Miller, while his takedown accuracy and takedown defence is higher than Jim’s. Cerrone is a minus-245 favourite in this fight, but I believe it’s a lot closer than what the public perceives it to be. I’ll still give him the edge, but this appears to be a fantastic tussle with explosion written all over it.
Weight of the world on their shoulders
Looking at the rest of the card, one can only imagine what kind of pressure a few of the fighters must be feeling.
For starters, there are lightweights Edson Barboza and Evan Dunham. Barboza was widely regarded as the future of the division, while Dunham was once a title contender. It’s one of those fights that will keep the winner relevant, while the loser will be sent free falling down the rankings ladder. There may not be a pink slip with a defeat, but it will likely be moved into position in the loser’s next bout.
Then there’s Rick Story, who was supposed to face off against John Howard but “Doomsday” was forced to withdraw with an injury. Story will now face off against Leandro Mafra, a 25-year-old representative of the infamous Chute Boxe camp in Brazil, whose only loss came just over two years ago at UFC 147. Since then, he’s gone undefeated, racking up five victories, all of them finishes. Everybody knows Story, and barely anyone knows Mafra, putting Story in a tough position.
And of course, there’s John Lineker, the flyweight who has built a reputation of having everyone holding their breath each time he steps on a scale. I wonder aloud if he is Burt Watson’s worst nightmare. It seems with every bout and every weigh-in, his job is in jeopardy and it was at the bout where the UFC brass likely had enough of his act.
Lineker made weight on his first try — 125.5 pounds — so the first step to redemption is complete. Lineker has all the talent in the world and if he can get the science of the weight cut down, his performances will likely improve. That could see him catapulted into a title shot against champion Demetrious Johnson.
History will be made
While next season’s Ultimate Fighter will feature the women’s strawweight division and crown a new UFC Champion, our first glimpse into the division will take place on Fight Pass.
Claudia Gadelha will be making her Octagon debut and — depending on whom you ask — is easily the No. 4 strawweight in the world, even considered No. 2 by some. She’s a Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champ and legit title contender already.
Gadelha will be taking on Tina Lahdemaki, who is currently not even ranked in anyone’s top 25. This bout showcases the heaviest favourite on the card (Gadelha) and thus I was hoping it would have been showcased on the prelims or perhaps the main card.
My fingers are crossed it someway, somehow ends up on a televised broadcast.