Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta
Veteran Jim Miller continues in his quest to fight literally everyone in the lightweight division this weekend as he welcomes newcomer Nikolas Motta to the Octagon for the first time.
Despite having the most appearances in UFC history (38 and counting), Miller was still experiencing firsts last September, when he was forced to withdraw from this bout’s original date after testing positive for COVID-19. The 38-year-old made a quick recovery and was back in action a couple weeks later, snapping a two-fight skid with a second-round knockout win over Erick Gonzalez.
Motta looks to finally get his UFC career started after dealing with multiple fight cancellations last year. The 29-year-old claimed the vacant CFFC lightweight title in his final fight of 2019, and followed it up by earning a contract with a unanimous decision win over Joseph Lowery a year later on Season 4 of Dana White’s Contender Series, pushing his record to 12-3 in the process.
This is the fighting equivalent of the old head at the YMCA playing one-on-one with a younger, more athletic baller, and it will be interesting to see if Miller’s veteran savvy, guile, and overall experience will be enough to carry him to victory over the more explosive, dynamic Motta this weekend.
Joaquin Buckley vs. Abdul Razak Alhassan
Make sure you’re sitting down and paying close attention once this one gets underway because middleweights Joaquin Buckley and Abdul Razak Alhassan have a penchant for ending things quickly.
After a breakout 2020 campaign that included his Knockout of the Year finish of Impa Kasanganay, Buckley’s sophomore season in the Octagon got off to a rocky start, as he was knocked out by Alessio Di Chirico in January. The 27-year-old St. Louis native rebounded with a third-round stoppage win over Antonio Arroyo in September and looks to add another Performance of the Night bonus to his bank account this weekend when he takes on Alhassan.
Currently training with the Elevation Fight Team in Denver, Colorado, Alhassan started his career at welterweight, earning 10 first-round stoppage wins through his first 11 fights before missing weight in consecutive losses to Mounir Lazzez and Khaos Williams. He debuted at middleweight last April, dropping a decision to Jacob Malkoun, but collected his first win in the 185-pound ranks four months later, dropping Di Chirico with a single, solitary head kick 17 seconds into their fight.
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Buckley has earned 10 of his 13 career wins by knockout or technical knockout, while each of Alhassan’s 11 career victories have come by way of first-round stoppage. Individually, they are must-watch middleweights, and paired off together this weekend, their bout carries more explosive potential than the giant piles of dynamite Wile E. Coyote used to use to try and catch The Roadrunner.
