Las Vegas: Jim Miller, the UFC veteran, has the record of highest wins in the Lightweight division and will lock horns with debutant Erick Gonzalez on Sunday. Confident of winning the fight, Miller is banking on his experience to come up trumps against his opponent.
Miller, in an exclusive conversation with Etv Bharat, reveals his strategy for the match, his last two fights that resulted in losses, and his prediction for Poirier vs Oliveira match.
Excerpts:
Q. You've been fighting in the UFC since 2008. Describe the feeling of your debut at UFC 89 against David Baron?
A. My brother fought MMA prior to me, making his UFC debut. So, I got a lot of nerves out when he fought. I don't really get that nervous but anytime when he was fighting, I'd be shaking like a leaf. It was just exciting. It was crazy because I had never fought outside of New Jersey at that point and then it's like hey you're making your UFC debut in Birmingham, England, and that was different. It was a different experience than just fighting an AC. It was cool. It was not how I envisioned it.
Q. You've faced almost every fighter in the Lightweight division whether it is Dustin Poirier, Dan Hooker, Beneil Dariush among others. Who was your toughest opponent?
A. They were all tough. I have definitely been in quite a few tough fights. You know that my first fight with Joe Lauzon was just one of those fights while that was happening. I knew that it was something special. And I have had some great fights. We had a second fight that was another Fight of the Night. I’ve had good performances and my goal every time I fight is to make it fun, to make quick, want to be able to hop up quick and go to an after-party and have a cheeseburger, and being in those battles. It’s not always easy to do that. So yeah, that fight was crazy while I was in it. There’s blood everywhere and I was exhausted and I had taken that fight on a few weeks notice, but it was definitely like I said it was, it was a fight that I knew was special as it was going on and it is one of the memorable ones really.
Q. Your opponent Erick Gonzalez is making his UFC debut at UFC Vegas 40 and you've been fighting in the promotion for over a decade. How do you think your experience will play out?
A. Experience is a weapon too. I have seen just about anything a fighter can do inside the Octagon. I have fought phenomenal grapplers, great wrestlers, great strikers; seen it all. When on the flip side, he's making his debut and he's really got nothing to lose and I know, putting myself in that situation. I feel like a pretty dangerous man. I am definitely not going to overplay the experience advantage that I have over him, it's one of those things. He's here for a reason. He earned his opportunity to fight in the UFC and if I can use the experience that I've gained fighting, you know "who's who" of lightweights, then that's what I'm going to do. Yeah, it's a fight so you never know what's gonna happen.
Q. Gonzalez is on a two-fight winning streak entering into this match while you are coming on the back of two close losses. How do you keep your mind focussed on the task at hand and sweep such things under the table?
A. I am a person that lives in the present. I can only control what's right in front of me. I would have liked to have done other things in those recent fights and would have liked to have been able to pull off victories. I'm not worried about that. None of that helps me on Saturday night. I've got a talented fighter who's younger than me and will be stepping across the Octagon for me. So, that is hundred per cent the only thing that I'm focused on.
Q. Your opponent holds 8 KO/TKO victories and you hold 18 submission victories in your career. Can we expect to witness one more classic grappler vs striker match in this one?
A. I don't know how it's going to play out. I try not to have really too much of an idea of how the fight is going to go. I trained to fight at the highest level with the major aspects of fighting being my grappling or my wrestling and my striking. My plan is that sooner or later he's going to fall short of what I am here to do and what I've trained to do. And that's going to be my opportunity to end the night.
Q. If you secure a win at UFC Vegas 40, do you have a name to call out?
A. No, there's nobody that I need to call out at this point. I am still a few days out from a fight and like I said, I'm focused hundred per cent on Eric, and I can't really see farther right now. I would love to have a great performance. I know that I can have a great performance and I would like to fight some of the other legends in the sport, and I also enjoy fighting these young guys too. There is no way that you can know exactly what's gonna go on in a fight, so it's always exciting to me.
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Q. You hold a victory and a loss against Charles Oliveira. What would you like to do if you are offered a trilogy fight against him?
A. You know what, I need to get a little steam and just be ready to go if anything ever happens and somebody drops out or something like that. Or if I do get a few more wins in a row, under my belt. Let's do it. Let's have the trilogy.
Q. What are the adjustments you would make?
A. Set up my leg kicks! He knew I was gonna be throwing that leg kick and I didn't hide it and he was able to close distance, wrap me up, and put me on my shoulder pretty good. I was then trying to defend him with one arm. That's the way it goes. Now we're one and one. Let me do what I need to do on Saturday night and then we'll meet again.
Q. What is your prediction for Charles Oliveira vs Dustin Poirier fight at UFC 269?
A. It's a tough fight. The way that the Poirier has been fighting, he doesn't really look like he's gonna be put in a bad spot. I think he's gonna be able to pull out to victory. Although Oliveira - you can't count him out, he's got good striking, he's got phenomenal grappling. And he's super dangerous. But he also gets into trouble. When he won the title, he was in trouble for a bit there in the first round. I think that Dustin is the type of guy that's going to keep his calm and be able to keep that momentum once he gets it, and not let Oliveira come back.
When and where to watch?
Watch UFC Fight Night - Ladd vs Dumont on 17th October 2021, LIVE on SONY TEN 2 (English) and SONY TEN 3 (Hindi) channels from 4:30 AM IST.
Ayushmaan Pandey
