The MMA Daily

A rematch culminating nearly eight years later, Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller will once again lock horns. This time however, the stakes are higher, as the victor of the fight will become the UFC’s all-time wins leader. Cerrone comes into this fight looking to halt an ugly 0-5 and one no contest skid over the last six fights. Having fought whoever and whenever throughout his career, Cerrone is at a stage in his career where fighting fellow veterans makes sense. At 39 years of age and given this tough stretch, this could very well be Cerrone’s last stand. Meanwhile, Miller has apparently found the fountain of youth. A winner of two straight, against younger foes, Miller seems to be destined to stand the test of time. Or at least until UFC 300, which he has stated is a goal of his. Staring a three-fight win streak in the eyes, something in which Miller hasn’t done since 2016, perhaps he might just have a few more years in the tank.

Back in 2014, when these two fought, Cerrone got the best of Miller. Arguably too, both men were in their prime and among the very best Lightweights. Fast forward to today and clearly neither man is the same. However, Miller seems to have more in his tank. On the feet, Cerrone is dynamic and overall the better striker. What he lacks is durability, something in which is a strength of Miller’s. As far as grappling, both are exceptional and have dangerous submission abilities. Miller though is the better wrestler and more willing grappler. Seeing that Cerrone has only been submitted once in fifty-four fights and Miller only three times in sixty-one fights, I’d say that it’s highly unlikely this fight ends via submission.

While both men are fairly comparable, I’m going to side with Miller. Seeing his success of late, combined with his knowledge of treating his Lyme disease better and ambitions to fight on UFC 300, Miller seems to me like a fighter who’s above his age. Obviously father time has stripped down some of his abilities, but at the core, Miller is still a durable fighter who’s going to give anyone a tough fight. Also, with Cerrone having cut down to Lightweight twice in the last five weeks, only to see his fight cancelled on fight day, mentally and physically has to have taken a toll on him. So with that said, I predict Miller to win via TKO.