UFC 86 Notebook – ATT’s Miller Fattens Account

By:  | Posted: Monday, July 7th, 2008 at 12:04 pm.

The American Top Team’s Cole Miller fattened his bank account on Saturday, when the lightweight prospect submitted Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Jorge Gurgel with a third-round triangle choke at UFC 86: Jackson vs. Griffin at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Miller (14-3, 3-1 UFC) banked a “Submission of the Night” bonus worth $60,000, six times his $6,000 base salary.

A cast member on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Miller was bloodied from battle and appeared to be trailing on the scorecards by the time the two lightweights entered the closing stages of their bout. From his back, the talented 24-year-old Georgian secured the triangle choke with 44 seconds to go in round three. Gurgel (12-4, 3-3 UFC) struggled to free himself, but Miller rolled into top position before tightening the choke from his back. With 12 seconds left in the match, Gurgel tapped out for just the second time in his career.

Newly crowned light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson were awarded matching $60,000 “Fight of the Night” bonuses in wake of their memorable main event. Griffin (16-4, 7-2 UFC) captured the 205-pound title with a unanimous decision. The loss snapped a six-fight winning streak for Jackson (28-7, 3-1 UFC).

Finally, Melvin Guillard pocketed a $60,000 “Knockout of the Night” bonus after he thrashed German lightweight Dennis Siver in just 36 seconds. The gifted but enigmatic Guillard (22-7-2, 4-3 UFC) overwhelmed his foe with quick hands, as he knocked down Siver (11-6, 1-3 UFC) twice, ultimately finishing him with ground strikes.

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GONZAGA RETURNS TO FORM

Gabriel Gonzaga — who a year ago was preparing to battle Randy Couture for the heavyweight championship — returned to form with a quick submission victory over fellow Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Justin McCully on the UFC 86 undercard.

The win snapped a two-bout losing streak for Gonzaga, still one of the most feared submission fighters in the heavyweight division. He wilted against Pride Fighting Championships veteran Fabricio Werdum at UFC 80 in January, leading many to question whether or not the beating he absorbed from Couture had smothered his internal flame.

Gonzaga (9-3, 5-2 UFC) exploded onto the international scene in April 2007, when he knocked out one-time Pride Open Weight Grand Prix champion Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic with a head kick at UFC 70. The decisive victory punctuated a six-fight winning streak for the hulking Brazilian, a streak that ended when Couture stopped him on strikes four months later.

Not one of Gonzaga’s 12 fights has gone to the judges, and with the recent departures of Tim Sylvia and Andrei Arlovski from the UFC’s heavyweight division, he could soon find himself in position to challenge for the belt once again.

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HILL STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS

Though many had become enamored with Corey Hill’s unusual size — he stands 6-foot-5 — and length at lightweight, the 29-year-old Floridian remains something of a project for his handlers at the Miletich Fighting Systems camp in Bettendorf, Iowa.

Hill succumbed to a second-round rear naked choke from former Icon Sport lightweight champion Justin Buchholz in a preliminary matchup at UFC 86. Just three fights into his professional career, Hill certainly possesses the skills to pose problems in the 155-pound division. Experience should polish him further.

A former junior college national wrestling champion, Hill (2-1, 1-1 UFC) won his UFC debut in January, when he finished Joe Veres with strikes. A quarter-finalist on season five of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, Hill drew interest from veteran Jeremy Horn before shooting wrapped. The bond he developed with one-time UFC lightweight champion Jens Pulver, his coach while the show taped, led him to the MFS camp.

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THIS & THAT

Four of the five main card bouts went the distance; Joe Stevenson‘s submission victory against the American Top Team’s Gleison Tibau was the lone exception. A former welterweight, Tibau had navigated his first 20 fights without being submitted, though Stevenson’s air-tight guillotine choke altered his resume in a hurry … Patrick Cote‘s split decision win against Ricardo Almeida snapped a string of three straight first-round finishes for the French Canadian … Forrest Griffin became the first man in more than eight years to defeat Quinton “Rampage” Jackson by decision. Not since his 2000 loss to Marvin Eastman had Jackson been given a thumb’s down by the judges … Lightweight contender Tyson Griffin opened his career with eight straight wins by knockout, technical knockout or submission, including his victory over reigning World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight champion Urijah Faber in 2005. He has not finished a fight since.

CATEGORIES:MMA