Las Vegas, NV – UFC lightweight Jim Miller has more than just a win on the line when he faces Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone at UFC 276 on Saturday night.
Miller (34-16) tied Cerrone for the UFC all-time wins mark at 23 when he defeated Nikolas Motta by knockout in February. Now the two MMA legends will fight for a win at T-Mobile Arena, but also for the lead in all-time wins.
“I’ve never held it (the all-time wins record) so I really don’t know. It’s cool. Like as an active fighter I don’t really think about it. To be perfectly honest the last 39 fights have kind of been a little bit of a blur. With family and some of the other bullsh*t that I’ve dealt with outside,” Miller told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.
“Training camps and fighting. I get very focused. I’m good at focusing myself and just worrying about the task at hand. So I don’t step back and think about the numbers all that often, but it’s a cool feather in the hat to have. I’m planning on taking it on Saturday night.”
Miller was originally set to face Bobby Green at UFC 276, but Green withdrew from the bout for undisclosed reasons. Cerrone had two consecutive bouts with Joe Lauzon fall out due to health issues, and was willing to take the bout on short notice.
“I found out the Saturday beforehand that Bobby was out. Sean (Shelby) was like ‘Hey we’re going to ask Cowboy since his fight fell through, you know, if he wants to fight.’ He, understandably, didn’t want to make the cut again. I completely agree with that,” Miller said.
“So for a few days there nobody accepted the fight and they went back to him at 170s. I got the call that Thursday literally maybe 20 minutes before it broke. I think you guys knew before I knew. It was like ‘Hey Cowboy said yes, what do you think of 170s?’ And I said ‘Let’s f*cking do it.’”
Miller has spoken before about the desire to fight on UFC 300. Miller defeated Mac Danzig at UFC 100, Takanori Gomi at UFC 200, and he hopes to be on that UFC 300 card to do something nobody else has done.
The cut to 155 however is difficult on most fighters so taking a bout at 170 may help get Miller to the mark he wants to hit.
“I don’t really think (this fight) has anything to do with that. The cuts are never fun, but I’ve got it pretty dialed in at this point. It’s part of my job that I take very seriously. While I don’t enjoy doing it….to be a professional I believe you have to take it seriously,” Miller said.
The fight against another living legend in Cerrone leaves fans wondering how the fight will go between two scrappy vets.
“(I think the fight will play out) Violently. I know what he’s capable of. He’s a dangerous guy and that’s why I like watching him fight, but I’ve also seen his last couple fights. I know that he hasn’t been taking damage well. So I have to be smart, I have to be quick, and I have to make it a Jim Miller fight,” said Miller.
