UFC Fight Night 35 Date: January 15th, 2014 Arena: Arena at Gwinnett Center City: Duluth, GA Featherweight bout: Cole Miller (-185) vs Sam Sicilia (+145) Fight Breakdown: Kicking things off for the main card at UFC Fight Night 35 is a featherweight scrap that pits a pair of former Ultimate Fighter contestants, when Season 5’s Cole Miller takes on Season 15’s Sam Sicilia. Miller is the favorite heading into this contest at -185 ($185 to win $100), with Sicilia being the underdog at +145 ($100 to win $145) at Several Bookmakerss. COLE MILLER (20-8 MMA, 9-6 UFC) is coming off of a unanimous decision victory over the Brit Andy Ogle at UFC Fight Night 30 two and a half months ago. He now looks to make it two in a row against Sicilia, while simultaneously notching his tenth career win inside the Octagon. Miller is a tough kid with average conditioning who trains out of American Top Team in Coconut Creek, F.L., and is one of the proudest representatives of the camp. Miller’s striking skills are not great, but he is incredibly talented on the ground. He is a threat every time the fight hits the mat, and the fact that 14 of his 20 professional mixed martial arts career victories come by way of submission certainly reflect that sentiment. While Miller generally has a height, reach, and size advantage over his opponents, he has not learned how to properly use those advantages on the feet. He was unable to work his jab against Manny Gamburyan, who he had a tremendous height and reach advantage over. SAM SICILIA (12-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) will be making his fifth Octagon appearance, coming off of a first round knockout victory over the Brazilian Godofredo Pepey. He got in Pepey’s guard, which was the one place that was dangerous for him to be, but rather than getting caught in a submission by the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Sicilia instead used his heavy fists to put Pepey out cold. It was a very impressive win for Sicilia, who snapped a two fight skid with the knockout. Sicilia is a decent wrestler, but he does not use his offensive wrestling much. He uses his wrestling defensively, to keep the fight standing, where he can do what he truly loves: use his hands. For a featherweight, his hands are serious weapons, as he possesses tremendous knockout power. In fact, he has knocked out seven of the 12 opponents he has defeated in his professional mixed martial arts career, and that is not including the impressive knockout he scored to get into the house on season 15 of The Ultimate Fighter. While Sicilia hits really hard, his striking skills are really not anything to write home about. It is worth noting that he has continuously been showing improvement in that department, including adding a kicking game to his arsenal, but his main weapon is still that overhand right, which he keeps looking for throughout his fights. He is not well-versed in the submission game, and will be a fish out of water with Miller as soon as the fight hits the mat. Fight Prediction: I think Miller’s gameplan going into this fight is going to be take Sicilia down, where he will use his bread and butter to earn a tap, and put himself in the running for Submission of the Night. Gabe’s Pick: Cole Miller by Submission (neck-crank, 1:24 round 1) Gabe’s Recommended Play: Cole Miller (-185) 5.55u to win 3u
