Longtime UFC lightweight veteran Jim Miller has more fights (42), more wins (25), and more submission attempts (47) than anyone in the history of the promotion. Heās also ranked second in finishes (17) and submission wins (11) and holds a spot in the Top 5 for most performance bonuses (14).
That folks, is a great career.
But is it good enough to land Miller, 39, a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame? That depends on your criteria for āFame.ā Miller was at one time ranked in the Division Top 5 but never captured a title in his 15 years of Octagon action. That said, he did help bail the promotion out of trouble by taking short-notice fights a whopping nine times throughout his career.
Not enough, according to former two-division champion Daniel Cormier.
āI donāt feel like time served immediately puts you in the Hall of Fame,ā Cormier said during his āDC & RCā show for ESPN (transcribed by Matthew Wells). āLook, heās got more wins than anyone else. I love Jim Miller and that makes it hard for me, but I just donāt feel like time served puts you in the Hall of Fame. Thereās an offensive lineman in the NFL right now that played 20 years. Is that guy going into the Hall of Fame just because he played 20 years? It doesnāt work that way. You have to have accomplishments to go into the Hall of Fame.ā
Miller (36-17, 1 NC) also holds five lightweight records including total fight time (6:19:22).
So who gets to decide which fighters are worthy of a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame? āDana White leads an internal committee to decide the annual inductees,ā according to the promotion, āto not only celebrate greatness and honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the UFC, but also to connect the newer generations of fight fans with the stories of the heroes of the sportās past.ā
I like miller and I think DC is really, really stupid. That said, DC is right about this. The hall of fame really isnāt for whatever journeyman could hang in there the longest. Itās for elite performers and Miller was never elite.
He has a point.
Jimmy Smith said the same thing a couple of days ago. Never fought for a title. Maybe they need to open a BMF wing of the HOF. Love JM, but they make a case.
Being able to win for this long is hof worthy. Not everyone will be champ but even fewer will have UFC careers as long as Miller
He beat Kumal Shalarus easier than Khabib, he should be in there
Many retired fighters could still be around and in contention for the most UFC fights if they had similar schedules to Miller. Heās pretty much been fed guys, with the occasional step up and loss, since about 2018. Everybody else gets thrown to the wolves and cut.
Would this linesman hold records for his position? Or potentially get let go from the NFL if he lost five games in a row but managed to stick around that long regardless?
Exactly right. They havenāt had him fight contenders in years and you canāt say that about anyone else. I like what they have done for him but heās the only guy I can think of that hasnāt been fed to killers to help put them over.
To his credit though, he has had multiple fights every single year that heās been in the UFC (2008). That is impressive and probably another record.
But yeah that kind of preferential matchmaking to extend a career is something you would figure would be saved for bigger names like Cerrone or Tony Ferguson.
My first thought was they just announced cowboy
He was just about to fight Jared Gordon coming off being robbed against Paddy. Youāre blaming Miller for Gordon getting pulled?
Yet another reason I canāt stand DCā¦
Fuck that fat cry baby cunt
In an ideal world you are correct.
But every HOF now is way too light in standards.
And you canāt leave out a guy like Jim Miller with that longevity in a sport that must have one of the shorter career spans in general and that has a āHOFā with shit like pioneers and fights in there. Itās already diluted by the elite performer standard.
Under that lens, I donāt know how you can have some of the people in there and not Jim Miller. We arenāt talking about an ideal HOF here because thatās way in the rearview mirror.
With all due respect, why is Matt Serra there? Because he had one great night and a huge upset that was quickly corrected?
HOF shouldnāt be a participation award . I agree with DC on this.
After looking at the list it would be tough to let him in there, Uriah Faber and Forrest Griffin are in there but did more