Jim Miller badly needed that one.
Heading into UFC 228, Jim Miller was staring down the barrel of a potential five-fight losing streak. However, he was given the opportunity to snap the streak against Alex White for a few reasons.
Firstly, he’s Jim ‘Fucking’ Miller, an absolute legend in his own right. Secondly, it was only a year ago when he was losing a majority decision to Dustin Poirier in a fight of the night performance. ‘The Diamond’ has since gone on to establish himself as an elite 155 lber on the cusp of a title shot. Thirdly, history was at stake.
Once the fight started, Miller became the first man to have 30 UFC fights. 38 seconds into the fight, Miller surpassed Gelison Tibau to hold the honour of having the most fight time in UFC lightweight history. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing Miller fight for over five hours inside the Octagon.
20 seconds after he set a new record, the fight was over. One left hand wobbled White, a second sent him crashing down to the canvas. Miller pounced on his adversary and sank in a rear-naked choke to force the tap just 89 seconds into the fight.
Absolute dejection for White. Pure unbridled joy for Miller.
Turning back the clock!!@JimMiller_155 with the first round finish at #UFC228 on @UFCFightPass! pic.twitter.com/hr9hgQrSLd
— UFC Europe (@UFCEurope) September 8, 2018
After his hand was raised, Miller, who has battled Lyme disease for several years, had to fight back the tears talking to Joe Rogan.
“I’m trying to hold back tears right now. In 2013, I was bit by a tick by 2015 it started to kick my ass. In 2016, I was diagnosed with Lyme disease and have been struggling with that disease. I was training and competing like I’m underwater and I’ve finally cleared my head.”
If that isn’t beauty, we don’t know what is.
