JIM MILLER was 25 and fighting for just the fourth time in his UFC career when he defeated Mac Danzig at UFC 100. Seven years later, the 32-year-old version of Jim Miller makes his 23rd walk to the octagon when he meets Takanori Gomi in Saturday’s UFC 200 opener.
Miller’s road to UFC 200 has had its ups and downs. He’s currently in one of those down periods after going 1-4 in his last five fights, and for a brief time the long-tenured UFC lightweight was debating whether UFC 200 was going to be the final fight of his career.
“There was a side of me that was like, ‘Eh, maybe that’s (UFC 200) time to hang ’em up,’” Miller told MMAjunkie. “But I don’t think that’s yet. I’ve been feeling pretty good throughout this camp.”
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Miller said a rough patch heading into his UFC 196 loss to Diego Sanchez left him thinking about hanging up his gloves. But with time and a solid training camp for the Gomi (35-11 MMA, 4-6 UFC) fight, Miller (25-8 MMA, 14-7 UFC) is confident that he has at least a few more fights, if not a few more years left in his fighting career.
Miller, whose bout streams on UFC Fight Pass from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, credits his stubborn personality and a little bit of luck for his long run in the UFC. While those two things have undoubtedly played a role in Miller never pulling out of a UFC fight that he’s agreed to, the ability to change with the times has also been a factor in his longevity.
“I definitely train differently now,” Miller said. “I used to spar with 250-pound guys or whoever. I was always fighting up a weight class or two in the training room. Now I’m a lot safer. I miss mixing it up with the big guys, but I just can’t do it anymore like I used to.”
Another thing that has changed for Miller is awareness of his role as a professional athlete. Some of that has to do with the fact that he and his wife, Angel, now have four children, while some of it has to do with the growth of the sport since Miller first signed with the UFC.
“I think it’s really important to lead by example,” Miller said. “Even if I didn’t have my kids looking up to me and seeing how I act, more and more there are a lot of young people coming to these events and following MMA. I think it’s very important, even if we don’t want to be in that position, every one of us is still in the public eye, and we still have to act like a role model.”
While Miller has experienced some changes during his time with the UFC, he feels one thing has remained constant throughout his 22 UFC fights: his willingness to put on an entertaining fight.
“I still approach every fight the same way,” he said. “I’m going out to fight my fight and win by my standards and satisfy myself. I’m going out there to beat the tar out of somebody and put them away. Being on the rough patch that I’ve been on doesn’t really change the way that I’m going to go into this fight.”
Miller feels the UFC appreciates that about him, and he’s pretty sure that’s partly why matchmaker Joe Silva gave him the opportunity to fight on a prestigious card like UFC 200.
“I asked to be on UFC 200 in the octagon after the Sanchez fight,” he said. “When I shook Joe’s hand, I asked to be on UFC 200. I think that when I asked for it, he accommodated it because I think I’ve earned the opportunity to ask for something like that.”
As he approaches his 23rd UFC fight and 34th overall, Miller doesn’t have many regrets, but there are two specific areas that he would tell the Jim Miller of UFC 100 he should have paid more attention to: social media and fan interaction.
“There were times early in my career when I slipped out the back door and didn’t walk through the crowd,” he said. “Now I relish those moments of walking through and shaking hands, signing autographs and taking pictures. It’s part of it. That’s really the only thing I would tell myself, just jump on that a little earlier.”
With everything that has changed in his life, his career, his training and the fight game, one thing hasn’t changed, according to Miller: the behind-the-scenes treatment he and the other fighters on the roster receive from the UFC.
“There are new faces here and there (in the UFC), but I’ve had the opportunity to fight and corner in other promotions, and nobody competes with the level of professionalism the UFC has,” Miller said.
“It doesn’t matter where you are or who it is, you’re still part of this machine that is just going to run; there’s no doubt about it. Comparing any of the other shows to them in the way that fighters are taken care of and the camps, it’s apples to oranges.”
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