Alessio Sakara out, Dan Miller in Against Jake Rosholt

by Discman2 on Jan 8, 2009 12:25 PM EST Comment 33 comments

Promoted to the front page from the FanPosts by Luke Thomas.

Sources close to the fight have revealed to MMA Weekly that American Top Team fighter Alessio Sakara has been replaced by Dan Miller for the upcoming UFC Fight Night card in Tampa, Florida. Sakara is apparently out due to an injury, though how severe of an injury has yet to be seen. The fight is still scheduled to be on the under card of the event.

Miller's last fight was a unanimous decision win over fellow former IFL fighter and former IFL Middleweight Champion Matt Horwich at UFC 90. This will be Miller's third fight in the UFC after being aquired in the demise of the IFL. Rosholt meanwhile is debuting in the UFC after the WEC's Middleweight division was dissolved at the end of last year. He is coming off a somewhat impressive yet very sloppy performance against Nissen Osterneck at WEC 36. The young Oklahoma State prospect is going to have his hands full against Miller.

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

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That’s some bad news for Jake Rosholt.

Miller bros. coming up strong on short notice. That’s probably a good reputation to earn.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Jan 8, 2009 7:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

damn. i was gonna root for rosholt against sakara but since they replaced miller now im rooting for his opponent. The miller brothers are really hard not to like.. :)

plus i think that rosholt would’ve beat sakara easily, but now i dont see him beating dan, standing or on the ground.

good find by the way. :)

http://weoweoweo.deviantart.com/

by Anton Tabuena on Jan 8, 2009 7:59 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think Sakara would have taken out Rosholt. Sakara has way better stand up, as evidenced by Rosholt’s last fight. He looked absolutely horrible on his feet and the sad part is Nissen looked worse. Even worse is that those two guys are supposed to be the future of the division…

Miller is going to take this easy. The Miller bros have great ground games and I would imagine Dan is way ahead of Jake on the ground.

by Discman2 on Jan 8, 2009 9:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think Jake would have tested his standup until he got caught with a few too many. While Sakara’s standup is overrated Jake’s is still amateur at this point. Then it would have gone to the ground and Sakara may have lost by decision.
Now, I think Dan should be able to beat Jake unless Jake gets scared and goes straight wrestling to eek out a decision.

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 11:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I would have agreed with you, but Sakara’s takedown defense is garbage. Once he’s on the ground, he’s worthless.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Jan 8, 2009 12:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, the most Rosholt can hope for here is a wrestling based submission defense filled decision victory. Miller’s striking isn’t exactly fear inducing but the way Rosholt was blocking punches with his head against Osterneck should have Rosholt shooting for ankles.

On the ground however is Miller’s strong suit and I guess this fight will come down to whether or not Rosholt’s top game is better than Miller’s bottom game.

by SamCupitt on Jan 8, 2009 9:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Gotta love the Miller brothers...

These repeatedly take fights on little notice and come out like they had been training for their opponents for months.

I have a lot of respect for the both of them, win or lose.. (Miller will win in my opinion)

by Gunslinger20 on Jan 8, 2009 9:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

They are going to be one of Dana's favorites...

It isn’t hard to see how much Dana loves gamers and guys willing to fight on short notice. And the Millers’ preparedness to take these fights is a glowing reflection on their training. IMHO, their camp should get some props from the UFC by way of some free on-air plugs. Dana and Co. have certainly said negative things about camps (AKA, for example) that they do not view favorably, so they should pump camps that they view as “loyal”. Some interviews with the Millers’ trainers/managers or some on location shots of their training could have some nice financial impact for the fighters and camp as a whole.

There's a WAMMA belt in my Cracker Jacks!

by Drewplata on Jan 8, 2009 10:44 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Eek. Def bad news for Rosholt. Dan Miller is no joke. He is going to sub Jake early.

by lbk on Jan 8, 2009 9:46 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ouch

Rosholt was pushed to quickly by Zuffa in my opinion. He is going to lose this fight and lose it badly. There is no way he is ready for a fighter of Dan Miller’s calibur. I say second round submission. Sorry Jake, should let Laimon and co push you this hard this fast.

by Nick Travaglini on Jan 8, 2009 10:18 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I agree 100% Rosholt should still be fighting in higher end regional shows like Sport Fight,TFA,Pure Combat,MFC,Total Combat,etc He should be still learning in shows like that. Buy no means should be in the UFC this young stage in his career,

by Shocbomb on Jan 9, 2009 12:21 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like he is testing the waters to see if he’ll sink or swim.

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Jan 9, 2009 12:15 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Very nice

I was wondering when Dan Miller would be back. And I agree with all the comments about Rosholt being thrown to the wolves here. Unless he manage to take Sakara down immediately and lay on him for three rounds, he was likely to get KOd…now he’s likely to get submitted by Miller when he does take it to the ground.

by Scott Haber on Jan 8, 2009 10:38 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I would

actually like to see Dan get a fight without having to step in. But both of these brothers are incredible for the sport. They are on a fight if needed basis, and they are excited fighters. Tough fight for Rosholt.

by "Mr. NC-17" on Jan 8, 2009 11:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Maybe Rosholt is coming in with the same mindset as Brock Lesnar – only wanting to fight the best – no warm up fights.

"My job is a decision-making job, and as a result, I make a lot of decisions." --George W. Bush, The Decider, Lancaster, Pa., Oct. 3, 2007

by lovingmma25 on Jan 8, 2009 12:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah,

if he wins this will be a great approach to fast tracking his UFC career & even if he loses it will be attributed to his inexperience & fighting a game Miller brother.

by dnevil001 on Jan 8, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just to be clear, you’re putting Sakara on the same level of former and current champions?

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 12:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i wouldn’t be suprised if jake comes down with an injury. ufc debut, opponent changing from striker to grappler, and against a miller brother who comes to fight…..bad news.

by pmac06340 on Jan 8, 2009 12:11 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Are you implying he’s going to back out or that somehow changing his gameplan will injure him?

by Simco on Jan 8, 2009 12:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is really a win-win situation

for Rosholt. If he happens to beat Miller, he beat an experienced & mid-top level guy. If he loses it will be he should have lost but he gains great experience against a mid-top guy. Maybe not the approach that most guys starting off in the UFC would take, but hey much props for Jake having big balls to take this fight as well as for Miller for taking it on short notice even though on paper it looks like an easy sub victory for him.

by dnevil001 on Jan 8, 2009 12:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I dare you to not love the Miller brothers.

Especially if you’re Joe Silva.

Always in shape, always ready to fight at a phone call’s notice.

That’s what this fucking sport is supposed to be about, kids.

War Millers.

Although detractors decry (MMA) as a brutal, bloody form of human cockfighting, aficionados know it is a brutal, bloody, totally fucking awesome form of human cockfighting. -The Onion

by The Kittitas Kid on Jan 8, 2009 12:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hence why they should start asking Melvin Manhoef to come in an short notice crush TUF alumni.

A day’s notice with 100 lb. weight difference? No problem.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Jan 8, 2009 12:47 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Good News

For the viewers thats is.

by HEELHOOK on Jan 8, 2009 12:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Maybe if it gets televised…

by George Lucas on Jan 8, 2009 1:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I like.

Much more interesting fight. And agreed, you gotta like the Mille Boys.

by donkeypunch on Jan 8, 2009 12:15 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hey Luke!

What was wrong with the pic I had up earlier? Ah whatever I guess this looks better.

by Discman2 on Jan 8, 2009 12:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I changed it. Nothing was wrong with your pic =) This one just looks nicer.

by Nick Thomas on Jan 8, 2009 1:13 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well, I could at least see the original pic. No picture is visible to me, now.

Which isn’t your fault at all, but that of the draconian restrictions of our network here at work. Still, I’m all for loading pictures to the SB server.

"BJ on the BE" - Kierkegaard

by Brett Jones on Jan 8, 2009 1:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I was taking Rosholt over Sakara, but I can’t go against Dan Miller here. Both Miller brothers have an uncanny ability to pull off submissions in miraculous circumstances.

Editor-in-chief of MMA-Analyst.com

by Leland Roling on Jan 8, 2009 12:48 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Welcome to the Big Show, Jake. Miller by Millerplata.

by subo on Jan 8, 2009 2:03 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well...

I’ve been extremely high on Jim Miller for well over a year before he joined the UFC. I like Dan but I’m not quite as high on him. That being said Rosholt is a blue chip athlete but he showed some serious holes in his last fight.

Rosholt’s biggest strength is his wrestling but I don’t really think he wants to play around with Miller on the ground. This is a really bad fight for Rosholt in terms of it being very difficult for him to win, but it’s a really good chance to see how much his game has improved as Dan is a pretty big step up.

Contributing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.

by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 8, 2009 4:59 PM EST reply actions 0 recs