UFC Fight Night Atlantic City finally has its main event. The world’s top MMA promotion last night announced that UFC Fight Night 45, which takes place July 16 at Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, will be headlined by a five-round lightweight tilt between top contenders Donald Cerrone and Jim Miller. In a deep 155lb weight class, the winner of this pivotal matchup will be very close to earning a crack at the lightweight title. Cerrone (23-6, 1 NC) has been on an absolute roll as of late, defeating Evan Dunham, Adriano Martins and Edson Barboza via stoppage in his last three fights, earning “Performance of the Night” bonuses each time. The 31-year-old is one of the most exciting fighters in mixed martial arts in any weight class and with a 10-3 record in the Octagon he’s proven himself at the highest level of the sport. Although his loss to Anthony Pettis by body kick knockout was disappointing, other than that decision losses to Rafael dos Anjos and Nate Diaz, Cerrone has been nothing short of spectacular in the UFC and with a win over Miller he will be close to a rematch with Pettis. Miller (24-4, 1 NC) is one of the best lightweights in the UFC and has an overall 13-3, 1 NC record in the Octagon. He’s currently riding a four-fight undefeated streak since a submission loss to Nate Diaz in 2012, and with back-to-back submission wins over Fabricio Camoes and Yancy Medeiros he’s closing in on title contention once again. An extremely slick fighter on the ground, Miller is tough as heck and if he can take out Cerrone in impressive fashion he’ll be very close to a title shot. But can he get Cerrone to the floor? That’s ultimately the question that needs to be answered, and honestly, I don’t know if he can. And if he has to stay standing with Cerrone for any length of time, he could be in serious trouble. As far as the betting line for this bout goes, it will certainly be interesting to see which way the public takes it but I do think Cerrone is going to enter as a very slight favorite here, although it wouldn’t shock me if the line flopped. For whatever reason the betting public hasn’t given Cerrone much credit as of late, but after stopping Dunham, Martins and Barboza I expect him to finally get some support, although Miller’s last two wins — impressive submissions of Camoes and Medeiros — will give him respect and keep the line close. Regardless of the betting line, though, this is going to be an absolutely tremendous fight between two of the best lightweight fighters in the world and I absolutely can’t wait to see it go down this summer. And while I’m having a hard time picking a winner here, I am confident about one thing — that this bout is not going the full five-round distance.
