Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC, PFL, Dana White’s Contender Series and “The Ultimate Fighter” live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
Lightweights
NR | Nikolas Motta (12-3, 0-0 UFC) vs. NR | Jim Miller (33-16, 22-15 UFC)ODDS: Motta (-180), Miller (+155)
Miller continues to build his lead for all-time UFC appearances, as the New Jersey native will make his 39th trip to the Octagon for this fight. Between the historic workload and being 38 years old, Miller is still surprisingly effective. He never quite got over the hump to a title shot during his prime—which is now roughly a decade ago—but “A-10” held on as a reliably exciting fighter for the next few years. There have been some rough patches, both against strong competition and while suffering through an undiagnosed case of Lyme disease, but Miller has kept his record about even as he finally settled into a prospect-testing niche. Thus far, Miller has thrived in that role, often winning quickly and decisively. Over the last few years, Alex White, Jason Gonzalez and Roosevelt Roberts—along with generational peer Clay Guida—all suffered submission losses to Miller within the first round. Miller mixed that up a bit in his last outing, this time waiting until the second round to beat Erick Gonzalez and doing so via knockout. He now finds himself pitted against another newcomer in Motta. Brazil’s Motta has been on the UFC radar for a while, appearing on the fourth season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” in 2015 before eventually earning a contract via Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020. There is not much variation to Motta’s approach, but it is an effective one. He is consistently willing to throw strikes and does so with a tremendous amount of power. Injuries have delayed Motta’s UFC debut for nearly a year, and he gets an interesting first test against Miller, who figures to be athletically overmatched but also savvy enough to avoid the most dangerous parts of the Brazilian’s game. Even at this point, Miller is still extremely difficult to knock out, so he might be able to hang around and somehow find a submission in a grappling exchange if Motta gets sloppy or overaggressive. However, given that Motta can be consistently effective over three rounds, the UFC newcomer is a much safer bet to keep doing damage even if he cannot put Miller away. The pick is Motta via decision.
Continue Reading » Buckley vs. Alhassan