Newark — Lightweight Jared Gordon has been hitting a number of milestones of late.
Entering UFC 328 Fight Week, he’s over 10 years sober, with a 16-month old baby girl. Sporting a “Girl Dad” cap at media day in Newark, New Jersey on Wednesday, Gordon (21-8, 1NC) explained to media outlets including Cageside Press that fatherhood has “taken all the pressure off me. It’s not about Jared anymore.”
While his wife used to suggest that Gordon wasn’t happy if fans weren’t cheering for him, now, “it’s taken everything off of me. It’s not about me anymore. No matter what happens, the pressure’s not on me, man. I could go, get paralyzed tomorrow and it doesn’t matter because I have move forward for my daughter.”
Gordon is set to face the veteran of UFC veterans in Jim Miller this Saturday at UFC 328. He’d been asking for a fight, telling his manager he was ready to go for weeks.
Then the call came as Gordon was getting in the shower. “Normally when he calls me, it’s for something good. And he was like ‘hey, Jim Miller in Newark,” and I was very happy.”
“Jim’s a great name, legend of the sport. Most UFC wins, most UFC fights. But come Saturday night, he’s just another guy.”
Miller has been out of action for a bit, as his teenage son was battling cancer. With his son winning that battle, Miller is back, and Gordon is expecting the Jim Miller of old.
“I don’t think his game plan is going to change from his other fights. I think he’s going to come out and do what he normally does, and that’s what I’m expecting,” suggested Gordon. “I think he’s going to come out hard. He’s in Jersey, he’s in Newark, his home state. I don’t know how many more fights he’s going to fight. I know he’s been through some though times recently, so he wants to get the win for his family, but like I said before that doesn’t matter. On Saturday, I don’t care about your family. I have my own family, I have a daughter who needs me. I’m expecting the best Jim, and I know that I’ll come out on top.”
Watch the full UFC 328 media day appearance by Jared Gordon above.
