Michael Bisping and Daniel Cormier are both UFC Hall of Famers but they disagree on the criteria required to receive that prestigious honor.
Ahead of UFC 300 on Saturday, Jim Miller will compete in the octagon for the 44th time, which extends his record for the most fights in the history of the promotion. He also has a chance to beat Bobby Green for his 27th win in the UFC, another record he already holds.
Miller has a laundry list of accomplishments on his resume after spending a remarkable 16 years in the UFC but Cormier argued that it’s still not enough to get his nod for a spot in the Hall of Fame.
“I do respect the hell out of everything he’s done, Cormier said on his podcast back in January. “But I still don’t think that it’s a Hall of Fame career.”
A huge part of Cormier’s argument comes down to Miller never winning a title or at least competing for a championship during his long tenure with the UFC but Bisping doesn’t buy that as a requirement to earn a nod as a Hall of Famer.
“There’s a lot of headlines at the time when Daniel Cormier said that and I disagree,” Bisping told MMA Fighting. “I do think Jim Miller, given what he’s achieved in this sport and what he’s done, deserves a spot in the [UFC] Hall of Fame. I don’t know the accolades off the top of my head. I know Daniel’s point was he was never a champion. Well if that’s the case then surely, all you’ve got to do is become a champ and then you’re in the Hall of Fame. I don’t think it’s that simple.
“Being a champion is being a champion. That comes with its own rewards, of course. Being in the Hall of Fame means something different. I think you have to make a difference to the sport and what Jim’s achieved, you have to stand out for whatever reason. When you look at Jim Miller, the longevity of his career, the people that he’s fought, the length of time inside the octagon and the records that he sets is just phenomenal.”
At 40, Miller is actually enjoying one of his best runs in the UFC with a 5-1 record in his past six fights. He faces Bobby Green on Saturday, which will also make him the only fighter to compete at UFC 100, UFC 200 and UFC 300.
Now you could chalk that achievement up to timing and opportunity but perhaps an even more important statistic is that Miller, along with Jon Jones, are the only fighters who actually competed at UFC 100 in 2009 who still have a spot on the roster. The rest of the fighters on that list have either retired or left the UFC.
It’s nearly the same with UFC 200 in 2016 with Miller, Miesha Tate, Jose Aldo, Julianna Pena, Kelvin Gastelum and Joe Lauzon as the only surviving fighters still on the active roster from that historic event. Add to that, Tate and Aldo actually retired before both deciding to return to compete again.
“He’s continuing to fight at the highest level,” Bisping said about Miller. “Just looking at his Wikipedia page — Fight of the Night five times, Fight of the Year, let’s go down here, you could go on all day — but 54 fights, this [fight at UFC 300] will be 55. I think this is [44] fights in the UFC I forget when he made his debut and he’s on some of the best form in his life. I think he’s won five out of his last six. They were all finishes as well, against good competition. He’s still knocking people out and the man’s no spring chicken.
“If you go back through all of his career, he’s done some phenomenal things. I think longevity alone, the amount of bonuses, the amount of wins, the amount of fights, that is something that separates him from the average guy that had a tenure in the UFC. I think for that alone, that needs to be celebrated and I would say give the man a Hall of Fame jacket one day.”
Miller once touted plans to make it to UFC 300 and then call it a career but that’s no longer in the works.
After he recovered from Lyme disease, which caused him a litany of health issues for the better part of two years and nearly led to his retirement in 2016, Miller now feels better than ever. He’s still competing with the best fighters in the world and the UFC isn’t an organization known for handing out participation trophies just for the fun of it.
Miller continues to earn his spot with each and every performance and Bisping believes that should be commended.
“Fighting on UFC 100, 200 and 300 and you know what Jim’s like, the way this is going he’ll be on UFC 400 as well,” Bisping said. “I think the longevity, I think the success that he had through that is phenomenal. The staying power, the determination, how he’s been able to do that to his body for so long. It’s not an easy thing to do. That alone needs to be respected.”
