UFC 328: Jim Miller Shines at Prudential Center

At UFC 328, held at the Prudential Center, Jim Miller from Sparta, New Jersey, delivered an uplifting performance in front of a passionate home crowd. This excitement was amplified by the presence of his teenage son, Wyatt, who recently triumphed over cancer.

Miller secured victory over Jared Gordon from Astoria, Queens, via submission with a guillotine choke just 3 minutes and 29 seconds into the first round. This event marked a rare face-off between fighters from the neighboring states.

After the match, surrounded by his wife and four children, Miller (now 39-19-0) expressed heartfelt gratitude for his son’s recovery from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer diagnosed last summer.

“My son has faced a lot over these past months,” Miller shared. “But today, he is cancer-free. We are all on cloud nine, really. I told him when he was diagnosed that the Millers have been called many things, but ‘fragile’ was never one of them.”

The fight saw the two veterans predominantly exchanging strikes, leading to a temporary halt when Gordon took an accidental low blow. Upon resuming, Gordon attempted a takedown, but it proved to be a critical mistake.

Miller wasted no time, wrapping Gordon in a tight guillotine choke, adding to his growing tally of submission victories. The crowd erupted when the referee recognized Gordon’s tap.

The atmosphere in the venue was electric, particularly from the Miller family section. “He’s really fought through it,” Miller remarked about his son, noting that he felt immense pride in making his family happy.

At 42, Miller hadn’t stepped inside the Octagon since losing to Chase Hooper by unanimous decision the previous April. With this match, he extended his UFC career to an impressive total of 47 fights, racking up 28 wins.

Looking ahead to UFC 300 in 2024, Miller hopes to reach 50 fights in the UFC, a notable milestone considering he has fought in both UFC 100 and UFC 200, making him the only competitor to participate in UFC 200.

As for Gordon (21-9), he entered this match on a streak of mixed outcomes but most recently faced a TKO loss against Rafa Garcia last September. This marks a concerning back-to-back loss for the fighter, something he hasn’t experienced since 2018.

The last notable matchup between a New Yorker and a New Jerseyan in UFC history took place on November 4, 2017, where Randy Brown outperformed Mickey Gall in a welterweight clash at UFC 217.