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UFC Hall of Famer Daniel Cormier recently stated that veteran Jim Miller isn’t in the same league as him. According to “DC,” Miller’s tenure isn’t a valid enough criteria to be worthy of a Hall of Fame distinction.
But for veteran Matt Brown, who is similarly one of the OGs who is still racking up wins against young fighters, Miller should be in the mix.
Cormier’s comments about Jim Miller
In a recent episode of his weekly ESPN show with Ryan Clark, Cormier said this about Jim Miller:
“I don’t feel like time served immediately puts you in the Hall of Fame. He’s got more wins than anyone else. I love Jim Miller and this makes it hard for me, but I just don’t feel that time served puts you in the Hall of Fame.
Cormier’s statements came shortly after Jim Miller defeated Jesse Butler via first-round knockout early this month at UFC Vegas 74. Miller also won a $50K bonus for Performance of the Night.
Matt Brown disagrees with Cormier’s comments about Jim Miller
Matt Brown got to respond to Cormier’s comments in a recent episode of MMAFighting.com’s The Fighter vs. The Writer. Here, he questioned DC’s comments, stating that longevity is enough for a Hall of Fame spot.
“I’m guessing like a baseball hall of fame you don’t have to win the [World Series] to be in the baseball hall of fame. You don’t have to win that to be in the hall of fame, right?
“I’m guessing that’s what Daniel Cormier is saying basically right? Like you’ve got to be a champion, you’ve got to have a belt to get in the hall of fame is what it sounds like to me.
“Why would longevity not be a part of the criteria? This is a hard f–ng sport to have longevity in. It’s not like his longevity was not doing anything. He’s got the most wins, too. He’s not like he simply wasn’t doing anything the whole time. What is the criteria he’s talking about?”
Brown then argued that using Cormier’s criteria would lessen the chances of many fighters to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
“I love DC, too. I’m not badmouthing him. He’s entitled to his own opinion but if your criteria’s going to be that you have to be a champion to get in, well that’s going to exclude a lot of guys that probably deserve to get in.”
Jim Miller doesn’t have ‘Sam Alvey longevity’
Brown then made comparisons between Miller and Sam Alvey. The latter likewise remained in the UFC for many years, despite a lengthy skid towards the end of his run with the company.
“You have to do something extraordinary — longevity is an extraordinary feat. To have longevity in the sport. We’ve got to be in the .1 percent of MMA fighters who have been in the UFC [for this long].
“How many thousands and thousands of fighters have been in the UFC at this point?
“It’s not like Sam Alvey longevity. You’re doing something extraordinary. It is extraordinary, not to toot my own horn, but to be in there for 15 years that’s a f–ng extraordinary feat.”
Miller’s future plans
After his win over Butler, the 39-year-old Miller plans to fight on. But at this point, he’d be more than happy to get to fight at UFC 300, which happens sometime in 2024.
He also has one more thing he wants to accomplish in the UFC, and it’s not a world title.
“I need to kimura somebody. That was my gym move, that was my giant killer in the gym for years.”
Jim Miller’s current record stands at 36-17 (with 1 NC).
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