UFC Newcomer Nikolas Motta To Face Jim Miller At February 19th Event

UFC newcomer Nikolas Motta is set to make his promotional debut next month, facing veteran Jim Miller at the promotion’s February 19th card. The matchup, which was first announced by Motta’s management team, was later confirmed in a report by MMA Junkie.

The fight joins a card that has yet to be announced by the promotion. It is reportedly expected to take place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.

The booking gives Motta a chance to make his long-awaited debut. He first joined the UFC in 2020 after defeating Joseph Lowry on the TV show “Dana White’s Contender Series.” He has since struggled to find a fight for a long time now, with three different bookings falling through last year.

Miller broke a two-fight losing streak in his last appearance, finishing Erick Gonzalez in the second round with strikes.

Miller broke a record in his last appearance, fighting for the 38th time in a UFC cage. This fight made him the sole record holder for most fights in modern UFC history.

It was previously reported that UFC was aiming to book Motta against Drakkar Klose for an April card. However, that bout seemingly did not come to fruition.

It was reported Friday that UFC is attempting to book Rafael dos Anjos and Rafael Fiziev for their February 19th main event. Here are the fights that have been reported for the date thus far:

Bout 11: Rafael dos Anjos (30-13) vs. Rafael Fiziev (11-1) (Lightweight)

Bout 10: Jesse Strader (5-2) vs. Chad Anheliger (11-5) (Bantamweight)

Bout 9: Chas Skelly (18-3) vs. Mark Striegl (18-3) (Featherweight)

Bout 8: Kyle Daukaus (10-2) vs. Julian Marquez (9-2) (Middleweight)

Bout 7: Mario Bautista (8-2) vs. Khalid Taha (13-4) (Bantamweight)

Bout 6: Alexandr Romanov (15-0) vs. Ilir Latifi (15-8) (Heavyweight)

Bout 5: Austin Lingo (9-1) vs. Jonathan Pearce (11-4) (Featherweight)

Bout 4: Diana Belbita (14-6) vs. Gloria de Paula (5-4) (Strawweight)

Bout 3: Jessica-Rose Clark (11-6) vs. Stephanie Egger (6-2) (Bantamweight)

Bout 2: Johnny Walker (18-6) vs. Jamahal Hill (9-1) (Light Heavyweight)

Bout 1: Jim Miller (33-16) vs. Nikolas Motta (12-3) (Lightweight)