UFC Lightweight bout: Jim Miller vs. Benson Henderson
Odds: (-175 Miller /+145 Henderson )
Betting Pick: Miller
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In the semi-main event, two prolific Lightweight grapplers with well-rounded skill sets will go at it as Jim Miller squares off against WEC veteran Benson Henderson. Henderson was one of WEC’s standouts at 155 pounds, and is coming off a quality win over Mark Bocek. Miller, for his part, is riding a seven fight win streak and his only two professional losses came to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, the two guys duking it out for control of the division. Henderson has all the tools to succeed against anyone, but Miller is well-rounded, experienced, effective, and represents the biggest challenge Henderson has faced thusfar.
Benson “Smooth” Henderson is an extremely exciting, athletic, and effective young Lightweight. He isn’t the most powerful puncher in the world, but his striking is slick and fast, and he uses it very well to set up his takedowns, which are superb. Henderson is very quick on his feet, with great wrestling and a dominant ground game. His positional control, ground and pound, and submissions are all very dangerous, which is going to come in handy against a grappler of Miller’s caliber. Henderson has fought good competition, for sure, but Miller is easily the most versatile and experienced opponent he has had to deal with thusfar, so the biggest thing for him is to not make any huge mistakes that Miller can capitalize on and to depend on his superior strength, speed, and athleticism to help neutralize Miller’s outstanding technique.
Jim Miller has cemented himself as one of the top contenders in UFC’s Lightweight Division, but has thusfar fallen just short of being able to break through into the very top of the division. His only two losses are to Maynard and Edgar, clearly the UFC’s top two Lightweights, and a win here could go a very long way toward putting him in the title picture. Miller is an extremely solid competitor who fights smart and has no glaring holes in his game. His best work is clearly done on the ground, and he is a great wrestler with very good submissions, but he also has technical, accurate boxing to complement his grappling prowess. He isn’t quite as physically impressive as Henderson, but what he lacks in physicality he makes up for in stellar technique and top-level fight experience.
This is going to be a very competitive fight. Both Miller and Henderson are experienced and versatile young fighters, and both of them bring top-notch ground games to the table. Miller has slightly more experience against top-level competition, but Henderson has the edge in terms of physical speed and strength. Ultimately, though, I think Miller is the more complete and steady of the two, and that should be enough to earn him the decision win. Miller has slightly better striking, technically speaking, and a more diverse ground game. Miller by decision.
Prediction: Jim Miller via Unanimous Decision.
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