by Ariel Shnerer, The Fight Network

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Miller (8-1, 1 NC) made a successful transition into mixed martial arts with a sound base in freestyle wrestling. The New Jersey-native has lost only once in his mixed martial arts career, dropping a split decision to another IFL alum making his UFC debut on the September card, Mike Massenzio. The loss, registered at a "Reality Fighting" card in 2006, was only Miller's third professional fight. He made his IFL debut filling in for the injured Fabio Leopaldo and secured a victory over Dave Phillips with what commentator Bas Rutten called "the tighest guillotine (he'd) ever seen." Fighting for the New York Pitbulls under famed instructor Renzo Gracie, Miller quickly rose to the top of the middleweight ranks.

He would go on to submit Ryan McGivern with a kneebar in his second fight for the International Fight League to win the middleweight championship, and he left the now-defunct promotion as its last reigning titleholder.

The UFC announced the signings of Miller and brother, Jim, on July 23.

Standing in the way of Miller and a successful debut is journeyman Rob Kimmons.

Kimmons (21-3), an "American Jiu-Jitsu Academy" product, has only one UFC fight to his credit. In his promotional debut, he made quick work of Rob Yundt, forcing the Alaska Fighting Championship vet to submit to a first-round guillotine choke. Though Kimmons possesses an impressive record on paper, he has yet to face top competition, and the vast majority of his wins were recorded in small promotions. He was on the losing end when faced with arguably his three toughest tests as a fighter — bouts against Joe Riggs, Ryan Jensen and Marvin Eastman.

Both Miller and Kimmons have sound training in submission fighting. Miller started training for MMA at "Planet Jiu Jitsu" and has made noticeable strides in bettering his ground game with each passing fight. Kimmons won his last four fights by submission, so it should be interesting to see which fighter has the edge on the ground.

Mike Massenzio (10-2), victorious against Miller in 2006 but unsuccessful in his only fight under the IFL banner, is now confirmed to meet Drew McFedries. He needs to rebound from a costly loss to Danillo Villefort at IFL: Connecticut in May if he hopes to pursue a career under Zuffa LLC. Massenzio was on a nine-fight winning streak until his IFL debut, including four consecutive submission wins.

Fighting under the nickname "Massacre," McFedries (7-3) left fans with quite an impression in his promotional debut at UFC 65: Bad Intentions. McFedries withstood flurries from a first-class boxer in Alessio Sakara and dropped the Italian in the first round, securing the TKO. Since beating Sakara, McFedries has earned a reputation for heavy hands and punishing leather. He got caught in a triangle choke at UFC 68: Uprising courtesy of Martin Kampmann, only to rebound with an outstanding knockout win against Jordan Radev three months later.

Following the highlight reel knockout, McFedries ran into a roadblock and got sidelined with a severe staph infection. After over six months of inactivity, he resurfaced in January, taking on another hard-hitting power puncher in Patrick Cote. McFedries got caught early in the first round and though the loss against Cote was a setback, it would not hold him back. At "The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale," McFedries dominated Marvin Eastman en route to a first-round TKO win, also earning himself "Knockout of the Night" honors. McFedries is a former amateur state wrestling champion who trains under "Miletich Fighting Systems." The powerhouse has a plethora of expertise that works to his favor in his fights, and he must make good use of his skills to spoil Massenzio's debut.

The third confirmed bout for "UFC Fight Night 15" pits Jason Brilz against Brad Morris in a light heavyweight outing.

Brilz (15-1-1) has compiled an impressive record which he carries into his UFC debut. The "Victory Fighting Championships" and "King of the Cage" veteran defeated UFC fighter Jason MacDonald via split decision at a King of the Cage: Edmonton card in 2005. He last saw action in May, making quick work of Erik Jenks at a "Beatdown" event from North Dakota. His last four wins were all by way of submission.

Morris (9-3) is no stranger to the "King of the Cage" promotion and has one UFC fight under his belt. He was unsuccessful in his debut against Cain Velasquez at UFC 83: Serra vs. St. Pierre II, succumbing to strikes in the first round. Moving down from heavyweight, Morris now hopes to become a force in the UFC's most competitive weight class. If he is unable to stop Brilz in his debut, he will have a tough time pleading a case to UFC management.

Already confirmed for the card are two lightweight bouts: Nate Diaz vs. Josh Neer and Mac Danzig vs. Clay Guida, plus a light heavyweight contest between hometown fighter Houston Alexander and Milwaukee-native Eric Schafer.

"UFC Fight Night 15" originates from the Omaha Civic Auditorium in Omaha, Neb., and the Sept. 17 event (a Wednesday) will air live, exclusively on Spike TV.