Daniel Cormier has doubled down on his opinion of Jim Miller as a future UFC Hall of Famer.
Miller (36-17 MMA, 25-16 UFC), who is coming off a 25-second knockout of Jesse Butler less than two weeks ago at UFC on ESPN 45, is the record holder for most octagon victories in the promotion’s history at 25.
Cormier lauds Miller for his longevity but doesn’t think he has a resume worthy of a place in the UFC Hall of Fame. Cormier, who also doesn’t view recently announced 2023 member Donald Cerrone as a Hall of Famer, explained that Miller’s strength of schedule cannot be compared to those of champions.
“Jim Miller never was in the top five. He was never in the top 10,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “I love Jim Miller. I love everything he’s accomplished, but at one point ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone – who, by the way, I don’t think should be in the Hall of Fame – was the all-time wins leader. Andrei Arlovski at one point was the all-time wins leader.
“(Arlovski) will be in the Hall of Fame. But in his all-time wins, his longevity also coupled with his championship and all that, that puts him in. I don’t hate Jim, but Jim has a record that at some point can be broken. Israel Adesanya, Alexander Volkanovski, Aljamain Sterling, those guys will never hold the wins record. You want to know why? Because they’re fighting the best of the best.”
Cormier said if Miller and Cerrone make the UFC Hall of Fame, then the likes of Joe Lauzon should be inducted, as well, but in a different category.
“So then Joe Lauzon does too and all these other dudes like that,” Cormier added. “Like Deion (Sanders) said, ‘Put him in the Hall of Fame, but give him a different color jacket.’ That’s just the case.”
