LAS VEGAS — One of the problems when a promoter does 30 shows a year, as the UFC is doing this year, is that there will be cards which are bereft of stars.

And, at first glance, The Ultimate Fight Night card tonight in the Pearl at The Palms, seems to be one of those. The main event, a welterweight battle between Josh Burkman and Mike Swick, has no title implications.

Nor does the co-feature on the Spike TV-televised card between Patrick Cote and Drew McFedries.

But if legendary mixed martial arts coach Pat Miletich is to be believed, there is a potential superstar-in-waiting buried at the bottom of the nine-fight card.

Lightweight Corey Hill, Miletich believes, is destined to become one of the greats in the game if he continues the progress he's shown in the early stages of his career.

The 6-foot-4 Hill, who faces Joe Veres in a three-round lightweight bout, has the tools to one day be considered one of the MMA world's biggest stars, Miletich insists.

"To be honest with you, Corey is one of those guys who only comes along once in a great while," said Miletich, a straight talker and former UFC champion not usually given to hyperbole. "I look at him like a raw piece of clay, a guy I can mold into a great fighter. If he sticks with it and continues working as hard as he has been, in my mind, there's no question he'll wind up being a world champion.
"He's a guy who can not only win a title but can hold it a long time. He's a natural fighter. He's got so many of the things you look for.

"And if he does things the right way and develops the way I think he can, you're looking at a guy who is going to be at the top for a long, long time."

Official weigh-in results:

Josh Burkman (170) vs Mike Swick (170)
Drew McFedries (185.5) vs Patrick Cote (184)
Michihiro Omigawa (154) vs Thiago Tavares (155)
Alvin Robinson (155) vs Nate Diaz (155)
Alberto Crane (155) vs Kurt Pellegrino (155)
Dennis Siver (154) vs Gray Maynard (155)
Jeremy Stephens (155) vs Cole Miller (155)
Joe Veres (155) vs Corey Hill (154)
Justin Buchholz (155) vs Matt Wiman (155)