MMA Preview – Jim Miller vs Clay Guida at UFC on ESPN 5
THE FACTS
When is UFC on ESPN 5? Saturday 3rd August, 2019 - 18:00 start (UK)
Where is UFC on ESPN 5? Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
What channel is UFC on ESPN 5? BT Sport 2
Where can I stream UFC on ESPN 5? BT Sport subscribers can stream the fight online via the BT Sport website
For viewers in the United States, the event will be shown live on ESPN+ which can you sign up to here!
Are tickets still available for UFC on ESPN 5? https://www.ufc.com/tickets
THE STATISTICS
THE LOWDOWN
Two veterans square-off in Newark, New Jersey for their combined 61st UFC fight. Clay Guida makes his 28th appearance and Jim Miller steps out in his home state for his 33rd show in the octagon.
They have both fought a 'who’s who?' of lightweight killers but even though they have descended past their prime, they are still fighting at the highest level. Miller had the pleasure of fighting Dustin Poirier, Anthony Pettis, Francisco Trinaldo and Dan Hooker in a row and lost them all. He bounced back with a vintage rear-naked choke against Alex White, suffered the same fate against Charles Oliveira, and then got back to old choking ways against Jason Gonzalez in his last outing.
After getting finished by Thiago Tavares and Brian Ortega, Guida bounced back impressively with a decision over Erik Koch and a knockout over fellow veteran Joe Lauzon. However, Oliveira inflicted another submission loss but Guida is coming off a decision win over the ageing BJ Penn.
THE PREDICTION
Charles Oliveira is a beast so we cannot really judge their performances too heavily. They are both coming off wins but while Miller’s performance against Gonzalez was more impressive, this is a very tough fight to call.
They both prefer to grapple and it will be a fascinating exchange between Miller’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Guida’s wrestling. However, we could easily see these skill sets cancel each other out forcing a stand-up battle with little knockout power. A decision is likely, with Guida’s cardio just giving him the edge.
Winner: Guida via Decision
Striking and grappling stats sourced via FightMetric.
