Legend versus legend. There’s no other way to look at the rematch between Jim Miller and Cowboy Cerrone at UFC 276, really.
The duo were two of the most active fighters in the promotion’s history. They held a plethora of post-fight bonuses between them. And the match-up at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday would determine who had the most wins in UFC history.
It would also see a legend ride off into the sunset.
With the UFC wins record on the line — a fact that Bruce Buffer actually announced at the start of the fight — Miller and Cerrone got underway, with Miller firing a calf kick. Not a ton of action through the first minute, but more of a feeling out period. Miller led a couple of exchanges, and Cerrone took a big swing on a leg kick and missed, twisting out of position. He recovered, and would later land a body kick, and fire off a combo of his own. A moment later, he’d tag Miller twice in a combination. Another kick to the body would be caught by Miller, however, who dumped Cowboy on his back.
Miller wound up getting on top, inside Cerrone’s closed guard. Miller looked to sneak in some elbows, but Cerrone would reverse! Miller looked for a triangle, but Cerrone avoided that. That said, Cerrone had to be careful, especially when Miller switched to an arm bar. Cerrone picked him up, dropped him, then caught an ankle, looking for a heel hook while Miller shook his head, signaling that he didn’t have it. That took things to the end of the round.
Miller fired a leg early in the second, and added a calf kick. Cerrone answered with one of his own. Cowboy fired a front kick and missed. Miller then cracked Cowboy with a body kick at the same time Cerrone threw a head kick, and Cowboy slipped. Miller jumped on with a guillotine! Miller had it in tight, and after trying to find a way out with his arm trapped, Cerrone had to tap with a finger.
Following the fight, which saw Miller take over sole possession of the UFC’s wins record (with 24), Cerrone took off his gloves, and announced his retirement.
The last ride of an iconic career. Thank you @CowboyCerrone 👏🤠 pic.twitter.com/LEF6Lnea6i
— UFC (@ufc) July 3, 2022
“I don’t love it any more Joe. It’s hard for me to get up, this has been the longest camp for me. I’m not complaining, I just don’t love it anymore,” Cowboy told Joe Rogan. “I’m going to go be a movie star baby. It’s time to bow out.”
“You’re never going to see the numbers that came into this fight ever again,” Jim Miller later observed.
Official Result: Jim Miller def. Cowboy Cerrone by submission (guillotine choke), Round 2, 1:32
