Miller has made clear for a while now that he intends to make it to
UFC 300, which seemed like a bit of a pipe dream at various points.
Miller’s career appeared to be on its last legs immediately before
and after UFC 200 back in 2016, in part due to an undiagnosed case
of Lyme disease. Somehow, Miller strung enough wins to stay above
water and make it through some rough patches, and now he has the
most momentum he has had in years. This marks his record 41st trip
to the Octagon, and “A-10” is now riding a three-fight winning
streak. The day of Miller as any sort of contender are long gone
and he can still find himself in some tough moments against younger
athletes, but it has been a pleasure watching him continue to hone
his craft and remain a genuine danger. Straight-ahead strikers
Erick
Gonzalez and Nikolas
Motta each got absolutely smoked for sudden knockouts, and
Miller’s last fight saw him club-and-sub fellow 155-pound legend
Donald
Cerrone into retirement. At this point, there is honestly the
question if Miller has enough in the tank to make it well beyond
UFC 300, though that would overlook a tough test against Hernandez,
who steps in on late notice for Gabriel
Benitez. Hernandez was one of the UFC’s breakout stars in 2018,
debuting with a shocking 42-second knockout of Beneil
Dariush before outclassing Olivier
Aubin-Mercier to mark himself as a potential lightweight
contender. However, a 2019 bout against Cerrone wound up sending
Hernandez’s career careening completely off the rails. Cerrone blew
open all of the defensive holes in Hernandez’s aggressive approach,
and “The Great Ape” has spent the last four years attempting to
find a balance. First came an overly cautious win over Francisco
Trinaldo that was one of ugliest victories you will ever see in
terms of inactivity, after which a clear pattern has emerged.
Hernandez can still completely run over a subpar athlete in quick
and brutal fashion, but he obviously gets in his own head if his
opponent survives, forcing things to the point that he usually
implodes as a result. A December cut to featherweight seemed like
an interesting gambit, though the UFC did Hernandez no favors in
matching him against Quarantillo at UFC 282. Quarantillo’s entire
game involves surviving early trouble to drown his opponent in deep
waters later on, and that is exactly what happened. It is unclear
if this is just a onetime step back up to 155 pounds on late notice
or Hernandez fully abandoning his move down to featherweight, but
it is still a big opportunity for him either way. Crafty veteran or
not, Miller is still a 39-year-old fighter pitted against a prime
athlete with plenty of horsepower. However, if this is not a quick
win for Hernandez, Miller should take over fairly quickly come
Round 2 with the level of timing and accuracy he has shown in
getting his recent finishes. The pick is Miller via second-round
knockout.
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