Preview: UFC 314 Prelims

Lightweights

Chase Hooper (15-3-1, 7-3 UFC) vs. Jim Miller (38-18, 27-17 UFC)

ODDS: Hooper (-800), Miller (+550)

Miller once again adds to his own record with his 46th trip to the Octagon, and he has somehow still shown no sign of slowing down. Miller peaked as a title contender around 2011 and hung around for a few more years as a beloved action fighter until what seemed like a career-ending slide. A particularly flat performance against Diego Sanchez in 2016 marked Miller’s fourth loss in fifth fights and seemed to be a clear sign that he was near the end of his effectiveness. As it turns out, Miller’s troubles were mostly caused by an undiagnosed case of Lyme disease, and once that was handled, he went back to his spot as an exciting and viable veteran. Miller has never made a run towards any sort of championship glory in the last decade, showing the kind of deterioration that would be expected for a man of his age with his level of hard-fought experience. While Miller is no longer a consistent three-round fighter and instead more reliant on taking advantage of defensive openings, he has managed to successfully pick his spots against a wide manner of both raw prospects and solid veterans. In 2024 alone, Miller was able to find the finish against Gabriel Benitez and Damon Jackson. Hooper might be a tougher ask, however, as “The Dream” seems to finally be hitting his stride.

Signed as a teenager, Hooper was obviously a standout grappler from the jump but seemed potentially headed for disaster after a bit. When situations went south, Hooper often took a beating that he was only able to absorb through the durability of youth. Things have clicked much more since Hooper moved up from featherweight to lightweight about two years ago. He can better handle slower opponents while still having the necessary size for his new division, and while there still isn’t much defense to his striking game, he has developed enough poise and confidence to effectively hold his own until he can work his way to the mat. His complete swamping of Viacheslav Borshchev in May was a strong proof of concept that he can overwhelm an effective striker, and that has been the highlight of his current four-fight winning streak that has finally seen him get his proverbial groove back. Miller has enough savvy that it wouldn’t be a shock if he found a quick knockout, but this looks like Hooper’s fight to lose. Even if he can’t quickly find a submission, his willingness to constantly scramble and work for a finish should be enough to outlast Miller, who mostly does his best work in moments nowadays. The pick is Hooper via first-round submission.

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