Jim Miller continues to pull off incredible feats in his historic career.
On the main card of UFC on ESPN 45, Miller (36-17 MMA, 25-16 UFC) stepped into the octagon for his 42nd appearance with the promotion to face a short-notice replacement opponent in Jesse Butler. The lightweight bout aired live on ESPN and streamed on ESPN+.
Miller’s original opponent Jared Gordon was pulled from the bout during fight week, prompting Butler (12-5 MMA, 0-1 UFC) to step up on just two days’ notice. While Butler got to make his UFC debut in unexpected fashion, it only lasted 23 seconds thanks to the sharp hands of Miller.
Just as the pair began to exchange, a counter left hook from Miller found the jaw and sent Butler crashing to the canvas for the violent finish.
Check out video of the fast finish below (via Twitter):
QUICK WORK FOR JIM MILLER 😤 #UFCVegas74 pic.twitter.com/JQV7QJCNn5
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) June 4, 2023
With the win, Miller bounced back into the win column with the fastest knockout of his professional career which began in 2005. In his previous outing, Miller dropped a unanimous decision to Alexander Hernandez, which snapped a three-fight winning streak that consisted of all second-round finishes.
Miller also extends his UFC record for most victories in the promotion to 25. Andrei Arlovski and Donald Cerrone are tied at 23 for the next closest. The quick knockout was Miller’s 17th UFC stoppage, which places him second all-time behind Charles Oliveira who has 19.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 45 results include:
- Jim Miller def. Jesse Butler via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 0:23
- Tim Elliott def. Victor Altamirano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Karine Silva def. Ketlen Souza via submission (kneebar) – Round 1, 1:45
- Elizeu Zaleski dos Santos def. Abubakar Nurmagomedov via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Daniel Santos def. Johnny Munoz via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Don’Tale Mayes def. Andrei Arlovski via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:17
- John Castaneda def. Muin Gafurov via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Muhammad Naimov def. Jamie Mullarkey via TKO (punches) – Round 2, 2:59
- Elise Reed def. Jinh Yu Frey via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Da’Mon Blackshear def. Luan Lacerda TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:54
- Philipe Lins def. Maxim Grishin via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC on ESPN 45.
