UFC 90 Breakdown: The Undercard

Dan Miller vs. Matt Horwich

Miller Scouting Report
Height/Weight: 6’1/185 lbs.
Age: 27
Hometown: Sparta, N.J.
Fighting out of: Whippany, N.J.
Record: 9-1

The stakes: One of the UFC’s prized hauls from the Hindenburg (aka the International Fight League), Miller already paid dividends with his slick first-round submission win over Rob Kimmons at UFC Fight Night 15 in September. With a successful UFC debut already out of the way, Miller needs to work on clawing his way out of the preliminary abyss. Repeating his submission wizardry at Horwich’s expense would be a good start.

The breakdown: Grappler against grappler often comes down to who can gain top position and dictate the tempo of the bout. With that in mind, Miller needs to jump on Horwich and keep him from getting away with any of his P-Funk-inspired grappling trickery.

Horwich Scouting Report
Height/Weight: 5’11/185 lbs.
Age: 30
Hometown: Seattle
Fighting out of: Gresham, Ore.
Record: 22-10-1

The stakes: After years on the UFC periphery, the man they call “Suave” gets his long-awaited shot at the self-proclaimed Super Bowl of MMA. With an unorthodox style and even more unorthodox personality, a few wins in the UFC could make Horwich main-card material in short order.

The breakdown: Like most any bout, Horwich will approach this in his usual go-to-the-ground-do-something-funky-and-win strategy, which has served him well throughout a solid pugilistic career. Of course, Miller’s far from an easy mark on the ground. Horwich needs to stay focused on using the funk instead of allowing the funk to use him. James Brown struggled with that one for years.


* * *

The bottom line: As much as some of us want to see Horwich go old school and bust out the vintage Bret Hart sharpshooter on some fools, Miller has the kind of tight jiu-jitsu game that has bedeviled him in the past. Despite some improvements in his striking, Horwich will not keep this fight standing against an opponent who will undoubtedly force it to the mat.