Donald Cerrone knocks out Jim Miller at UFC Fight Night
Donald Cerrone had to stop Jim Miller twice before getting credit for his impressive second round KO win Wednesday at UFC Fight Night 45 in Atlantic City. The two lightweights engaged in a closely-contested stand up striking battle in round one before Cerrone's expert kicks allowed him to pull away and put Miller out in the second.
In the first period, Cerrone threw and landed multiple rear knees to the exposed body of the left-handed Miller. In the second round, "Cowboy" threw a front kick to the midsection of his New Jersey native opponent to great effect.
The first gut shot front kick from Cerrone landed flush and forced Miller to grimmace, bend over, clutch his stomach and then fall backwards against the cage and slide to the ground. That should have been the end of the fight but instead, referee Dan Miragliotta stepped in to chastise Cerrone for a low blow he never threw and gave Miller time to recover.
Once the action resumed, the kickboxer continued his assault on Miller's body with the front kick, landing several more times and hurting him badly. The end truly and finally came when Cerrone faked a right punch to draw Miller's own left hand away from his own head - where it could quickly adjust to a kick blocking posture - and instead into a parry of the faked right punch.
A right shin to the temple of Miller immediately followed up the fake right hand and dropped him once more. This time, there was no confusion and Cerrone pounced with punches to the downed Miller, forcing the referee to call a halt to the bout.
The win is Cerrone's fourth straight and third of 2014. Post-fight, he called for the UFC to give him another opponent - anyone - as soon as possible.
Miller's loss snapped a two-fight win streak.
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