MANILA, Philippines – It was a Jim Miller fight all right. Moving forward, pushing the opponent back, a gritty and heavy fight, and in the end, a win for the man nicknamed “A-10” in the co-main event of UFC Fight Night Ankalaev vs Walker at the Apex in Las Vegas.
Miller punished Gabriel Benitez through three rounds. His leg kicks quickly tenderized Benitez’ legs while he returned strikes with even more power. The Mexican had his moments and struck early on as Miller’s face was red in the first round with a welt underneath his eye.
Miller though was brutal. And his neck crank at the 3:25 mark of the third round forced Benitez to tap out. Having done so, fight number No. 43 — a record — in the books, his 26th win, fifth with the most Octagon time, Miller had one more number left in mind… UFC 300.
Said Miller post-match, "I knew it was going to be a hard battle on the feet. I knew I could win that leg kick battle, chip away, and make him tired. UFC 300 is coming up...There are a couple of intriguing names being thrown about. One of them is sitting at the desk, Paul Felder, that would be a fun fight. Matt Brown. If the purse is big enough, Brock Lesnar!"
It remains to be seen if he will be included for the UFC 300 card. Millers has three months to recuperate and stay in shape for the big UFC event as part of the world’s top mixed martial arts organization.
Miller was also a recipient of the Performance of the Night that comes with a $50,000 bonus.
In the main event, light heavyweight contenders No. 3 Magomed Ankalaev and No. 7 Johnny Walker finally met in a rematch following their no contest in October of last year. After a back-and-forth battle of leg kicks, Ankalaev landed two consecutive right punches that hurt and sat down Walker in the second round, prompting the referee to jump in and stop the fight.
Ankalaev said, "Everyone who fights with me tries to figure me out, but it's not something they can do. When I come in here, I am open for the hunt, and everyone in front of me is the hunted. I was prepared for this fight for a long time, I wanted the rematch right away, but this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is I am ready to fight for the title. I have ten victories in a row, I'm worth it, give me that fight for the title now."
Next Sunday’s event is UFC 297 (January 21), which will be held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada, with Sean Strickland (28-5-0) defending his newly won middleweight belt against South African Dricus du Plessis (20-2-0).
The UFC is always televised live in the Philippines on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as on the Blast TV streaming application.