A lightweight contender’s bout between jiu-jitsu specialists Jim Miller and Nate Diaz has been added to UFC on FOX 3, which will take place on May 5th in East Rutherford, New Jersey. UFC President Dana White officially announced the fight this evening. The bout could co-headline the card.
Miller picked up an impressive submission victory over Melvin “The Young Assassin” Guillard this past Friday in the main event of UFC on FX 1 and has won eight of his past nine fights. Diaz has posted back-to-back wins over former PRIDE ace Takanori Gomi and Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Miller (21-3-0) looked to be one win away from a shot at the UFC Lightweight Championship before a tough loss to former WEC champ Ben “Smooth” Henderson in August. Prior to the setback, Miller had won seven straight fights inside the Octagon dating back to a March 2009 decision defeat to recent UFC title challenger Gray “The Bully” Maynard. Miller struggled early on in the main event bout with Guillard this past week, but rallied back to submit the striker just over two minutes into the first round. He now once again finds himself on the brink of title contention, but Diaz stands in his way.
Diaz (15-7-0) found himself in a tough spot after splitting time between the UFC’s lightweight and welterweight divisions with mixed results in each. Losses to Dong Hyun “Stun Gun” Kim and Rory “Ares” MacDonald in early 2011 prompted Diaz to drop back down to 155 pounds for another run at lightweight contendership. The move has paid dividends thus far, as Diaz has put on two of the best performances of his career in dispatching of both Gomi and Cerrone. The December 30th bout with Cerrone saw Diaz outstrike the former WEC title challenger for three rounds and he could now vault himself into top contender status with a win over Miller.
UFC on FOX 3 takes place on May 5th at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The bout between Miller and Diaz is expected to either headline or co-headline the card.
(Photo Credit: Sherdog.com)