Jim Miller decisions Gleison Tibau
In a bout between two lightweight fighters on winning streaks, the American Jim Miller came out on top with a unanimous decision over the Brazilian Gleison Tibau on Wednesday night, on the main card of
Ultimate Fight Night 22, put on by the Ultimate Fighting Championships. The three judges scored it 30-27, 30-27 and 29-28 all in favour of Miller.
Before the fight the two men had come in as virtually even on the ledgers of most bookmakers, and it was very easy to see why in the first round. It was a tight affair, with Tibau coming out and showing
improved boxing in the first minute. But Miller recovered and landed a hard jab that buckled Tibau’s legs. Miller proved to be the aggressor on the feet for most of the round. Tibau scored two takedowns, but Miller’s excellent Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu game (both
men are black belts) saw him escape without significant damage.
Round two was also close, but Miller opened things up with a huge left hook that dazed Tibau and sent him against the cage. Miller looked briefly to be looking for a rear naked choke but instead switched
back to striking. Tibau recovered well though, and would go on to take Miller down twice as in the first round. Miller once again evaded damage successfully though.
The last round was less conclusive, although Tibau hit him well in the opening moments. After that it resulted in a tight striking battle with neither fighter able to score many points, and neither fighter
able to take the other down. Miller was largely the aggressor in the final round, as the massive amount of weight-cutting Tibau does before the fight seemed to have slowed him down in the final stanza.
The win now puts Miller at 7-1 in the UFC (18-2 overall) and gives him his most high-profile win to date. With five straight wins inside the UFC, Miller is due for another big step-up towards the title
picture.
For Tibau, it wasn’t all a loss as he looked comfortable with his hands inside the ring and managed to give Miller a very close fight. After having won two straight fights against Josh Neer and then Caol
Uno, he’ll have to regroup and go for another win. He’ll want to improve his top-control game and make sure he makes his opponents pay when he gets them on their backs.
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