The majority of the fighters on UFC on FX: Guillard vs. Miller card put on a great show. 6/10 of the fights finished in the first round (2 KO’s and 4 submissions). Here are the fighters who were awarded $45k in fight bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Pat Barry vs. Christian Morecraft
Knockout of the Night: Nick Denis
Submission of the Night: Jim Miller
Report Card:
Pat Barry, B+: HD always puts on a show. Although he was coming off 2 straight loses he was able to get his mindset together in order to win against a much bigger opponent. Morecraft had Barry on the floor in at least two occasions, but HD was able to scramble out under submission attempts without taking too much damage. I’m giving Pat a B+ because he got taken down 2+ times and was placed in dangerous positions on several occasions. Barry’s game plan was to not get taken down and to keep the fight standing. He needs to continue working on his takedown defense especially since he is a smaller heavyweight than most.
Nick Dennis, A+: You’d be crazy to score Dennis anything less than an A+ for scoring a 22 second KO in his UFC debut. The guy won without getting a scratch on him and his short elbow finisher looked lethal. Every single one of his wins have finished in T(KO) or submission and he has dropped to 135lbs since his last 2 fights. I look forward to see how he will do against tougher opponents.
Jim Miller, A: Miller showed solid boxing, good takedowns and expert submissions in his fight against Melvin Guillard. So the question remains, does he have what it takes to defeat the winner of UFC 144’s Frankie Edgar vs Ben Henderson? Yes, as he has the skill to submit either one of those fighters. Yes, I know, he has already lost to Frankie Edgar in 2006 and Ben Henderson in 2011. But he lost via decision in both those fights.
My opinion on the matter is that Miller will come in better prepared and more focused when he enters the cage next. He has been able to go toe to toe with the best in his division and has never been KO’d or submitted. He also has the edge on the floor against both of those fighters. The biggest problem he will face is taking them down without taking too much damage in the process. Both those fighters have spectacular takedown defense, although taking them down can use up a lot of energy, it’s not impossible. I see Frankie Edgar being able to take down Miller again but I have my doubts concerning Ben Henderson.
Photo Source: (Photo by Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
