Editor’s note: The article has been updated at 6:30 p.m. ET to
reflect the reason for Klein’s withdrawal.
Ultimate Fighting Championship vet Jim Miller
has a new opponent just a few weeks before his fight.
The
Underground broke the story on Friday that Jim Miller
(35-17, 1 NC) would no longer be taking on Ludovit
Klein at
UFC on ESPN 46. Instead, the grizzled lightweight will be
facing off against Jared
Gordon (19-6, 1 NC) on about two weeks’ notice. According to
MMA Junkie, Klein is out of the matchup due to illness. Gordon
has since confirmed this June 3 UFC Apex-located pairing on
Instagram.
It will have been a bit over a month removed from Gordon’s last
appearance, which ended in the first round when he and Bobby Green
clashed heads to force a no contest. Instead of booking the
immediate rematch, Green took a fight in July against Tony
Ferguson. “Flash” is aiming to get back in the win column after
a two-bout winless stretch that includes the Green no contest and a
contentious decision loss to Paddy
Pimblett many considered the 2022 “Robbery of the Year.”
Gordon’s last six wins dating back to 2017 have all come on the
scorecards, with his only finish in the Octagon coming in his debut
against Michel
Quinones at UFC Fight Night 112.
Miller will be looking to bounced back from his first loss in a few
years, as he fell short to Alexander
Hernandez in February by decision. That defeat halted a
three-fight win streak for the 39-year-old New Jersey native, who
had rattled off three stoppages over Erick
Gonzalez, Nikolas
Motta and Donald
Cerrone in the span of under nine months. Miller plans on
continuing to compete until UFC 300, an event that is not currently
on the books but is expected to take place around May or June of
2024. “A-10” currently leads the promotion in fights (41) and wins
(24), although the latter tally could be tied by Andrei
Arlovski should Miller prove unsuccessful while Arlovski
prevails that same night.
UFC on ESPN 46 will be held at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on June 3,
with a 125-pound barnburner headliner between Kai Kara
France and Amir Albazi
scheduled atop the billing. The co-main attraction will see
featherweight staple Alex
Caceres battle it out with Daniel
Pineda. Additional main card matches besides Miller-Gordon
include a flyweight scrap pitting Tim Elliott
against Victor
Altamirano, a women’s flyweight contest as Karine
Silva faces Ketlen
Souza and a lightweight banger between Jamie
Mullarkey and Guram
Kutateladze.