Cormier Lobbying To Keep ‘A-10’ From Hall Of Fame

Why is Donald Cerrone worthy of a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame but the “simple” Jim Miller isn’t? Must be that cowboy hat and RV full of candy.

Longtime UFC lightweight veteran Jim Miller has more fights (42), more wins (25), and more submission attempts (47) than anyone in the history of the promotion. He’s also ranked second in finishes (17) and submission wins (11) and holds a spot in the Top 5 for most performance bonuses (14).

That folks, is a great career.

But is it good enough to land Miller, 39, a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame? That depends on your criteria for “Fame.” Miller was at one time ranked in the Division Top 5 but never captured a title in his 15 years of Octagon action. That said, he did help bail the promotion out of trouble by taking short-notice fights a whopping nine times throughout his career.

Not enough, according to former two-division champion Daniel Cormier.

“I don’t feel like time served immediately puts you in the Hall of Fame,” Cormier said during his “DC & RC” show for ESPN (transcribed by Matthew Wells). “Look, he’s got more wins than anyone else. I love Jim Miller and that makes it hard for me, but I just don’t feel like time served puts you in the Hall of Fame. There’s an offensive lineman in the NFL right now that played 20 years. Is that guy going into the Hall of Fame just because he played 20 years? It doesn’t work that way. You have to have accomplishments to go into the Hall of Fame.”

Miller (36-17, 1 NC) also holds five lightweight records including total fight time (6:19:22).

So who gets to decide which fighters are worthy of a spot in the UFC Hall of Fame? “Dana White leads an internal committee to decide the annual inductees,” according to the promotion, “to not only celebrate greatness and honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the UFC, but also to connect the newer generations of fight fans with the stories of the heroes of the sport’s past.”

Cormier was inducted following his UFC retirement in summer 2022.