Top Picks for UFC Vegas 48: Johnny Walker vs. Jamahal Hill (Archive)
With another action-packed weekend, we have two light heavyweight contenders facing off between Johnny Walker and Jamahal Hill at UFC Vegas 48. In a stacked card, there are many fights that hold value, but there is one fight that stands out to me this weekend, and that fight is Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta. Read below for my UFC Prediction.
Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta
UFC Lightweight Bout
Saturday, February 19, 2022 – 10:00 PM EST at UFC Apex
Jim Miller
Jim “A-10” Miller is an American mixed martial artist with a current professional record of 33 wins and 16 losses. Miller’s UFC career began in 2008, and since then has been able to secure 18 wins by submission, 10 wins by decision, and 5 wins by T/KO. Of his 16 losses, 11 have been by decision, 3 by submission, and 2 by T/KO.
Miller’s forte is his elite submission skills; he is also a decent striker, but you don’t often search for him to get a knockout even though his last bout and win was by knockout in the second round.
Keep an eye out for his aggression; if he is able to land a couple of combinations to get inside the pocket and secure a takedown, then watch him work his magic.
Nikolas Motta
Nikolas “Iron Motta” is a Brazilian mixed martial artist with a current professional record of 12 wins and 3 losses. Of those 12 wins, 8 have been by T/KO and 4 by decision. His three losses were all inside the distance; 2 by T/KO and 1 by submission.
Motta is primarily a striker. He has a lot of power in his hands and he appears to have a sharp fight IQ since he is typically patient and measuring his range. We have not seen him fight on the ground, so we can imagine he will want to keep this fight standing against Jim Miller.
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Prediction
If you check out the UFC odds at BookMakers Review, you will be able to find the fighters priced at: Jim Miller +155 and Nikolas Motta -180.
This is a fun fight to predict because I can see this favoring either fighter. Motta has the knockout advantage, and Miller has the submission advantage.
It’s all a matter of skill, and in this case, experience. I don’t think Motta has competed against someone like Jim Miller, and also doesn’t have the experience like Miller.
I don’t want to take away from the power of Motta. If Miller does not read his opponent, and rushes in too quickly for a takedown, he can be clipped and finished.
Overall, I see Jim Miller entering the pocket and bringing the fight to the ground where he thrives. Since Miller is already the dog, he has a lot of value straight up.
UFC Pick: Jim Miller (+155) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.