Last night (Sat., Dec. 28, 2013) Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweights Jim Miller and Fabricio Camoes faced off on the main card of UFC 168 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout was pivotal for Miller, who had been a bit of a snide after getting choked out in two of his previous three bouts (although his loss to Pat Healy was changed to a "No Contest").
The talented grappler saw most of the momentum he built up during a seven-fight win streak from 2010-2012. He was presented with a sort of lose-lose proposition against Camoes, who hadn't notched a victory in the Octagon since Jan. 2012. A loss would have been devastating for the No. 10-ranked Miller's plight in the talented lightweight division.
Fortunately for him, he got back on track with a convincing first round victory. Let's take a look back at Miller's impressive performance at UFC 168.
The fight kicked off with some good striking exchanges. Miller landed hard punches while Camoes looked for a few big kicks. Miller secured a good trip takedown off one of them, but Camoes ended up on top to land some punches.
It didn't last long from there.
Miller threw his hips up for an armbar attempt and locked it up, earning the tap with a little more than a minute left in the opening frame.
It was a solid victory for talented grappler Miller, who took on Camoes in his strong suit of grappling and came out on top. Unfortunately he won't really get that much of a boost even though he won. It's more of a confidence builder to lift him out of his mediocre run because Camoes is a far cry from the top talent Miller is used to facing.
Miller should return to that type of schedule for his next fight but he'll have to rise to the occasion. Losing to a ranked fighter will quickly earn him the undesirable moniker of being someone who fails in the face of elite competition. In his post-fight interview, Miller claimed that he could beat any lightweight in the world if he fights like he did at UFC 168.
That remains to be seen. Beating Camoes is definitely not the same as beating the sharks that populate the deep end of the UFC 155-pound waters.
With many of the best UFC lightweights currently booked, Miller may find himself facing an unranked fighter like Evan Dunham, who was submitted by Donald Cerrone at UFC 167. If he gets extremely lucky he could get booked against former number one contender T.J. Grant when he returns from a lingering concussion. That's an improbable scenario, however, as Grant will most likely look to fight a top-5 type of opponent.
Miller just has to keep winning. A couple more decisive finishes will have him right back in the mix.
Camoes didn't mount much of an offense and the fact remains that he just hasn't been that effective in the Octagon. After his loss to Miller, he sits with a very unimpressive 1-3-1 record in UFC.
That's not going to cut it in the world's best MMA promotion, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see Camoes released sooner than later. He still has the submission skills to put on some good bouts in lesser organizations.
Jim Miller made a small step towards righting the ship when he submitted Fabricio Camoes at UFC 168. It was a good win, but will Miller get over the hump against a top-flight opponent?