Ht/Wt: 5’8/155 lbs.
Age: 29
Hometown: Las Vegas
Fighting out of: Las Vegas
Team: Xtreme Couture
Record: 6-0 (1 NC)
The breakdown: Arguably the premier product from season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Maynard has built his success on his Hughesesque combination of high-impact wrestling and suffocating top control. Employing both against Miller will be pivotal, as Miller’s top game is a rare combination of wrestling wisdom and submission savvy.
Jiu-jitsu remains the great unknown for Maynard, and testing the limits of his game against Miller would likely end with one of his limbs matching his already mangled ears. A steady diet of takedowns and top control may not be the most scintillating of strategies, but neutralizing Miller’s aggression and offensive dynamism is the only way Maynard will knock the lightweight half of the Miller brothers off course.
The X factor: It seems like Maynard’s time at Xtreme Couture has led to his becoming a more conservative fighter who focuses more on takedowns and top control than on scoring points with actual damage. If Maynard starts accumulating referee restarts during this fight, it may only be a matter of time before Miller hits a takedown of his own and puts Maynard in a position where playing it safe means tapping out.
Jim Miller Scouting Report
Ht/Wt: 5’8/155 lbs.
Age: 25
Hometown: Sparta, N.J.
Fighting out of: Whippany, N.J.
Team: AMA Fight Club
Record: 13-1
The breakdown: Miller should see a counselor to make sure he’s mentally ready to be outwrestled. While Maynard is hardly the second coming of Cael Sanderson, he’s impossibly strong and has the fundamentals to tie it all together. With that sobering reality in mind, Miller needs borrow from C+C Music Factory and make Maynard sweat.
Stepping forward with strikes, keeping an active guard and making Maynard work for every takedown he gets should be the standing orders for Miller, who has the cardio and aggression to make it work.
The X factor: Playing it safe will get Miller his first UFC loss, but he may get the same result if he goes all out. Forcing a hyperactive tempo while avoiding costly mental errors may be far from easy, but the alternative would leave him on the wrong end of a top control special.
* * *
The bottom line: Miller is a good wrestler but not good enough to stop Maynard from getting the better of him in that department. The real variable here is whether or not Miller’s jiu-jitsu is good enough to force Maynard out of his usual ground-and-pound routine. While Miller’s hybrid wrestling and jiu-jitsu game is almost unstoppable when he has top position, being stuck underneath Maynard for 15 minutes is a recipe for defeat.