Jim Miller targeted to welcome Nikolas Motta to UFC on September card

When Jim Miller steps into the cage for his record 38th UFC appearance, it’ll be his opponent Nikolas Motta’s first.

The promotion is targeting a matchup between the two lightweight fighters for the UFC Fight Night event on Sept. 18 at a location and venue to be announced.

Two people with knowledge of the targeted booking informed MMA Junkie of the matchup Thursday but asked to remain anonymous as the promotion has yet to make an official announcement.

Miller (32-16 MMA, 21-15 UFC) enters the fight on the heels of back-to-back unanimous decision losses to Vinc Pichel and Joe Solecki. One of the longest-tenured fighters on the promotion’s roster, Miller has gone 3-3 since the start of 2019 with submission wins over Roosevelt Roberts, Clay Guida, and Jason Gonzalez.

Motta (12-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) was scheduled to make his promotional debut on May 8 against Damir Hadzovic, but suffered an injury and withdrew from the fight. A former CFFC lightweight champion, Motta signed with the UFC after a dominant decision win on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2020.

With the addition, the Sept. 18 lineup includes:

• Anthony Smith vs. Ryan Spann
• Dakota Bush vs. Zhu Rong
• Danaa Batgerel vs. Montel Jackson
• Sarah Alpar vs. Erin Blanchfield
• Tafon Nchukwi vs. Mike Rodriguez
• Devin Clark vs. Ion Cutelaba
• Carlston Harris vs. Impa Kasanganay
• Jim Miller vs. Nikolas Motta