UFC Fight Night 45: Donald Cerrone vs. Jim Miller Fight Breakdown

Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller are set to collide in New Jersey tomorrow night (Wednesday July 16, 2014) in an intriguing lightweight tilt. With just under 60 fights between them, and 15 bonuses, don’t be surprised if ‘Cowboy’ and Miller steal the show in a big way in front of the fans in Atlantic City.

It’s anyone’s guess where this fight will go down, as both warriors have showed proficiency in all areas of the arts. Without further ado, let’s take a look at how they stack up:

Striking:

All fights start on the feet, and I’d say that Miller and Cerrone have equally exciting, but also contrasting styles of stand up skills. ”Cowboy’ has crisp Muay Thai abilities that he acquired during an unbeaten 29 pro kickboxing bouts, and he likes to keep guys on the end of his long kicks and punches.

Miller, a black belt in TKD, likes to keep it dirty and use nasty elbows from inside the clinch to bust people up. Rather surprisingly, both guys only have three KO’s to their credit, and two of Miller’s were from doctor stoppages. I’d give Cerrone the edge in style, power and overall experience, as well as his two inch reach advantage, but Miller has that dirty boxing style that could nullify the taller man’s length. A Muay Thai Champion that has his skills honed by Jackson’s MMA, It’d be foolish to call this anything else but 60-40 Cerrone

Wrestling:

Here is where I think Miller will want to drag this fight, as the more experienced and confident wrestler. Cerrone is by no means easy to take down, but Miller is clearly the more experienced wrestler, with the stocky and explosive body type to back it up. A former NCAA division I wrestler, I’d think that Miller would want to cancel out the taller man’s reach with some harsh slams.

‘Cowboy’ would do well to keep this fight standing, unless he plans on using his super offensive guard, as I’m giving Miller the 60-40 advantage in the wrestling

Submissions:

Miller has 13 submissions as a professional, while Cerrone has 15 to his credit. Both are black belts in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and you could argue that it is the area that they both stand out in. ‘Cowboy’ is extremely offensive with submission attempts from his back, which would be an advantage for him if Miller tries to make this fight gritty, which he often does.

Contrastingly, Miller is more offensive with his dominant positions, preferring to take the back and sink in the rear naked choke. Both veterans have only ever been submitted once, and have two submission wins in their last three bouts. Quite clearly, they are about as even as can be in this department. 50-50 on the mat

So Cerrone will like to stand and strike, but Miller has plenty of nasty weapons to use in that domain. I’d expect the shorter man to look for the takedown with his wrestling abilities, but his defense will have to be tight to work in the dangerous guard of ‘Cowboy’. That being said, it’ll probably be game over if Miller can get the back. What a great fight! How do you think this one will go down?