Jim Miller’s continuous winning ways apparently won’t change Daniel Cormier’s mind on his worthiness as a UFC Hall of Famer.
Miller (37-17 MMA, 26-16 UFC), 40, submitted Gabriel Benitez this past Saturday at UFC Fight Night 234. He has won five of his past six fights, holding the UFC record for most fights and wins in company history. Cormier previously mentioned that he doesn’t think Miller’s career warrants a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame.
Prior to beating Benitez, Miller responded to Cormier’s snub.
“DC had 15 UFC fights and in his 15 UFC fights – granted he ended up getting the UFC title and stuff like that and double champ. In my first 15 fights we had the same exact record,” Miller said on UFC “Unfiltered.” “11-3 and one no contest.
“Here I am nearing the end of my third Daniel Cormier career, and my record is almost the same as my first. And in that time, every win that I’ve got is a finish. I’m still here, I’m still performing, I’m still a dangerous guy tripling the champ-champ, tripling his time in the octagon.”
Cormier argued that, while Miller’s longevity is impressive, he questions the quality of his wins.
“I still don’t know,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “I just don’t know when – we talked about this last year. All those records, look, I believe him being in the octagon 45 times, or 43 times, is going to stand the test of time. I don’t know that, as we go forward, there will be anyone that can compete at that level for as long as Jim Miller competes at that level. The wins, though, I do believe at a point will be topped.
“If you put people in the Hall of Fame based on those records and then they get topped, then what are they in the Hall of Fame for? Remember Cal Ripken, he played more games than anybody. He was called the ironman of baseball, and he wouldn’t miss games. They wouldn’t just put him in the Hall of Fame for being an ironman. He had to have the stats that also match. Jim Miller has won a lot of fights, but think about this: He has the most wins in UFC history with 26, he’s fought 43 times, he’s lost (16) times in the UFC.”
Miller’s win over Benitez hasn’t changed Cormier’s mind, either.
“I still don’t know that the win last weekend changes much,” Cormier added. “One of the guys who I trained with for a long time, Moggly Benitez is who he beat… If you lost two or three fights in a row, they (UFC) had the right to cut you. He’s lost four in a row. How often do you see someone lose four fights in a row and not get cut?
“He was kind of riding that border, riding that fine line. I do respect the hell out of everything he’s done, but I still don’t think that it’s a Hall of Fame career just because he truly never reached – as much as people want to talk about ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone being in the Hall of Fame, he fought for the title.”
Miller is still trucking. He got his wish by landing on UFC 300 as he meets Bobby Green (31-15-1 MMA, 12-10-1 UFC) in the April 13 pay-per-view view event at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 300.
