UFC on Versus 5: Jim Miller vs. Ben Henderson, Early Head To Toe Breakdown

The line for a title shot in the UFC's lightweight division is long and filled with dangerous contenders.

Right now, Jim Miller and Ben Henderson are two guys near the front of the line, but a loss for either guy could move them straight to the back of it.

Miller is currently riding a seven fight win streak and fans have been calling for him to fight for the title for some time now. Jim has notable wins over Kamal Shalorus, Charles Oliveira, Mark Bocek and Gleison Tibau.

Henderson has only one fight in the UFC, a unanimous decision victory over Mark Bocek, but he is a former WEC lightweight champion. Ben hasn't done as much as Miller, but with a win over Jim, he could steal much of the top contender's momentum.

Both men are well rounded and tend to put on exciting fights, so this is a match up that fans are looking forward to.

Let's take a look at how these two stack up...

Experience

Who has the advantage experience wise for this fight is tough to gauge.

Henderson has been a champion in a major promotion and been a part of main event fights, which is something that Miller cannot say.

However, while Miller has not been in a main event fight, he has dealt with the pressure of fighting for the UFC many more times than Ben.

I think what it comes down to is Jim has more fights than Henderson and has faced better competition.

Miller has fought both Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who are considered by many to be the best two lightweights in the world right now.

Jim is probably the most dangerous opponent than Ben has ever faced, but Henderson is definitely not the most dangerous opponent that Miller has faced.

It's close, but I'm giving Jim the nod.

Edge: Jim Miller

Cardio

Henderson should have absolutely no problem going three rounds. He's been five rounds with Anthony Pettis, who is a tiring guy to fight against.

Ben had no problems going three rounds in his first UFC fight with Mark Bocek and that was a pretty grueling fight.

Miller has never gone five rounds, but he always comes into fights in great shape and has shown on multiple occasions that he can push the pace for three full rounds without tiring.

Given that both competitors have proven that they can go three rounds and still have gas left in the tank, I don't think cardio will be a factor in this one.

Edge: Push

Striking

This one is tough to call because both fighter have proven that they can be dangerous strikers, but most of their victories have come using wrestling and submissions.

Miller is coming off an impressive TKO Kamal Shalorus, but I can't give him too many points for that, given that Kamal isn't a particularly good striker.

Overall, I think that Henderson is the more complete striker. He has the better footwork and is more well rounded in terms of incorporating kicks.

Jim is a brawler, so is striking tends to look very good because he's fast paced and throws a lot of wild shots, but that strategy leaves him open much of the time. If you watch his fight with Kamal, Miller comes out very aggressive and eats some big shots in the early going of the fight as a result.

These guys are both talented strikers, but when it comes down to it, I'm going to take the more technical guy over the brawler most of the time.

Edge: Ben Henderson

Chin

Pretty straight forward here.

Neither fighter has ever been knocked out or TKO'd.

So, it's pretty much a wash.

Edge: Push

Grappling

Jim was on the varsity wrestling team for Virginia Tech. He did well, but only competed with the team for one year. Miller has gone on record saying that he didn't get along with the coaches at Virginia Tech and feels that he didn't get to reach his full potential.

Henderson also wrestled in college and was a two-time NAIA Collegiate All-American.

On paper, Ben has the better wrestling and that makes sense to me.

Both these guys have fought Mark Bocek within the past two years and Bocek is a solid grappler, so let's use those fights as a frame of reference.

Miller showed good takedown defense against Mark, but was taken down several times.

Henderson had a much easier time defending Bocek's takedown attempts and was frequently able to reverse Mark.

Edge: Ben Henderson

Submissions

Ben and Jim have both won most of their fights via submission.

Miller is a black belt, while Henderson is a brown belt.

Miller has also shown that he has a wider array of submissions in his arsenal.

Henderson has only ever submitted opponents with a guillotine choke, or a rear-naked choke (well, punches too, but that's not really relevant).

Jim has won with guillotines, armbars, triangle chokes, arm triangle chokes, knee bars and rear-naked chokes.

In summary, Miller is ranked high in brazilian jiu-jitsu and has proved he can be dangerous from more positions than Bendo.

Edge: Jim Miller

Winner?

This is a very, very close fight on paper.

Both fighters have ways that they can win this match, but I'm going with Jim Miller to take it.

Jim has been a tear lately and has a look and has a look in his eyes that says he won't be denied.

A lot of people describe Miller as a fighter who always finds a way to win and I think that's what we'll see in this fight.

Their skills are very evenly matched, but I think Miller will want this more and push the pace more than Henderson.

Their both really tough guys who have never been finished and I don't think either won will be finished for the first time at UFC on Versus 5.

Winner: Jim Miller via Unanimous Decision