– Donald Cerrone will have to wait a little while longer than he prefers to fight again, as “Cowboy” has agreed to meet Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night 45. The Press of Atlantic City first reported the fight for the main event role.
Cerrone (23-6-1) submitted Edson Barboza last month, earning his ninth fight-night bonus and his third straight win overall. The 31-year-old was mentioned as a possible opponent for Khabib Nurmagomedov, but he will fight Miller instead.
“I told Dana that I’d fight anyone, anytime,” Cerrone said. “I’m excited to fight a guy like Jim because he always brings it.”
Miller (24-4) has six fight-night bonuses to his credit and is coming off a submission victory over Yancy Medeiros. He is unbeaten in his last four, going 3-0 with one no-contest.
“I’m very excited to fight ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone,” Miller said. “He’s a game fighter and I like tough fights. Like me, he likes to put on a good show.”
– Ronda Rousey saw first-hand what Bethe Correia can do, and the UFC female bantamweight champion is impressed. Correia defeated Jessamyn Duke at UFC 172 recently, making a name for herself with the win and her post-fight actions.
Correia made the “Four Horsemen” symbol with her hand, before bending one finger down. Rousey, Duke, Shayna Baszler and Marina Shafir call themselves the “Four Horsewomen,” and Correia wanted to serve notice that she is coming after all of them.
“It’s smart,” said Rousey, during a recent podcast with Brendan Schaub (thanks to MMAjunkie.com for transcribing). “That’s what they needed to do. The girls are (expletive) taking a cue by getting people interested.”
Rousey feels that Baszler will meet Correia next, and that the fight is a no-lose situation for her. Rousey’s next opponent is Alexis Davis, but Correia could vault herself into contention if she can finish off a second teammate of the champ.
“Shayna’s UFC debut is either going to be a huge win for Shayna or this girl is going to be still undefeated,” Rousey said. “And I’m goign to have a huge title fight because this girl is going to have fought both of my girls and is coming after me. That’s a storyline. That’s Shayna’s storyline right now. And either she beats (Correia) and moves on and has a bigger name, or it moves on to be my storyline.”
– Former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans is targeting a return to the Octagon before the end of the year, according to a report recently on “UFC Tonight.” Evans suffered a serious knee injury in the final days of his prep for a fight with Daniel Cormier.
Evans (21-3-1) has won two straight and is 6-2 in his last eight overall. The lone losses came via decision to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and UFC champion Jon Jones.
One fighter “Suga” will not be matched up with is his current Blackzilians training partner, Anthony Johnson. Evans insisted that he will not fight a close friend, despite “Rumble” moving his way up the UFC rankings with his recent victory over Phil Davis.
