Dan Miller Now To Face Rousimar Palhares At UFC 134: RioAfter an undisclosed injury forced Alexandre “Cacareco” Ferreira out of the upcoming UFC 134 event in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares has received a new opponent. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Dan Miller has stepped in to face the leglock master on the August 27th card.

The UFC officially announced the change today, though details of Ferreira’s ailment were not disclosed. Palhares has won four of his last five fights, with the defeat coming against Nate “The Great” Marquardt. Miller’s two-fight winning streak ended when he was decisioned by Marquardt in March.

Miller (13-5-0, 1 NC) encountered a rough patch both inside and outside of the cage from 2009 until mid-2010. Amidst a three-fight losing streak, he fought through both the tragic loss of his daughter and also health ailments incurred by his young son. He was given one more chance in the UFC and made the most of it with an inspiring submission win over John Salter at UFC 118. Miller then earned a Split Decision victory against veteran Joe “El Dirte” Doerksen before losing to Marquardt at UFC 128.

Palhares (12-3-0) has impressed in many of his recent UFC outings and his array of vicious leglock submissions has made him a feared opponent for those who cannot keep the fight on the feet. Six of Palhares’s nine submission wins have targeted an opponent’s knee or ankle and all but one of his UFC victories have come by stoppage. He most recently rebounded from a curious TKO loss to Marquardt by submitting Dave Branch with a heel hook at UFC Live 3 in March.

With 17 submission victories between them, the game plans of both Miller and Palhares are quite clear, but Miller has shown improved striking in recent bouts and should have an edge over Palhares if he opts to try to keep the fight standing.

UFC 134: Rio takes place on August 27th at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

 

UFC 134: Rio Fight Card (to date; subject to change):

– Anderson “The Spider” Silva vs Yushin “Thunder” Okami (UFC Middleweight Championship)
– Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs Forrest Griffin
– Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira vs Brendan “The Hybrid” Schaub
– Edson Mendes Barboza Jr. vs Ross “The Real Deal” Pearson
– Luiz “Banha” Cane vs Stanislav Nedkov

– Spencer “The King” Fisher vs Thiago Tavares
– Paulo Thiago vs David “Daudi” Mitchell

– Erick “Indio” Silva vs Mike “Quick” Swick
– Antonio “Pato” Carvalho vs Yuri “Marajo” Alcantara
– Yves “Tiger” Jabouin vs Ian “The Barn Owl” Loveland
– Dan Miller vs Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares

 

 

(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)