It was recently announced that Jim Miller (14-2) and Thiago Tavares (14-3) will collide in a lightweight showdown at UFC 103 from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 19.
Miller is fresh off a unanimous decision win over Mac Danzig at UFC 100 on July 11, during which he leveraged his strong wrestling skills and ground and pound to beat the California native to a bloody pulp.
It was the fourth fight for the New Jersey native inside the Octagon and his third win. A unanimous decision loss to the streaking Gray Maynard at UFC 96 back on March 7 is the only blip during that span. His other wins include Matt Wiman and David Baron.
Tavares most recently appeared inside the cage against Manny Gamburyan at UFC 94 "St. Pierre vs. Penn 2″ on Jan. 31, scoring a unanimous decision win over the "Pitbull." He was supposed to return to action much sooner; however, he reportedly sustained an elbow injury while training for a bout against Melvin Guillard, forcing him out of the lightweight contest earlier this year.
After bursting onto the UFC scene with two straight wins, Tavares created quite a buzz as a possible threat to the champion. However, he has since come back down to Earth, losing three of his last five fights.
Stringing together consecutive victories inside the Octagon for this first time since 2007 would more than likely propel him back into the mix.
UFC 103 will feature a new-look main event between Rich "Ace" Franklin and Vitor "The Phenom" Belfort at a 195-pound catchweight. Also slated for the main card is a heavyweight tilt between former PRIDE superstar Mirko Cro Cop and surging heavyweight prospect Junior Dos Santos.
In addition, Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will collide to determine the number one contender for Georges St. Pierre’s 170-pound title.
For the latest UFC 103 fight card click here.