UFC 205 results: Thiago Alves' extra weight no matter for Jim Miller in unanimous decision win

NEW YORK – In Thiago Alves, Jim Miller faced a bigger opponent coming down from a higher weight class, but it didn’t stop him from grinding his way to a hard-fought victory.

Miller (28-8 MMA, 17-7 UFC) used key takedowns at critical moments to stop the momentum of Alves (21-11 MMA, 13-8 UFC) whenever he pressed his advantage on the feet. The result was a unanimous decision win for Miller, who took the fight by scores of 30-27, 29-28, and 30-27.

The catchweight bout (Alves missed the lightweight limit) was part of the preliminary card of today’s UFC 205 event at Madison Square Garden in New York. It streamed on UFC Fight Pass ahead of additional prelims on FS1 and the main card on pay-per-view.

From the start, Miller fought like a man who knew he had to be wary of his opponent’s striking power. He did his best to keep Alves from marching him into the fence with strikes, and planted him on his back with takedowns in each of the three rounds, often at crucial points in the fight.

What Miller couldn’t do was keep Alves down for long, or nab a submission as Alves worked back to his feet. The Brazilian fighter proved to be both powerful and cagey, even from his back, which kept Miller busy trying to neutralize his offense.

Neutralize it he did, even after Alves threatened with kicks to the body and head, as well as a blistering right hand that missed by centimeters on more than one occasion.

But after Miller spent large chunks of every round taking Alves down and swarming him on the mat, the judges had an easy call, and all three gave the fight to Miller on the scorecards.

With the win, Miller now has three victories in a row, and the most total UFC wins of any lightweight in UFC history. Alves has lost two straight.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 205 results include:

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(MMAjunkie’s John Morgan, Matt Erickson and Mike Bohn contributed to this report on site in New York.)