Miller (4-3) recently lost her grandmother who raised her. Following the win Miller was overcome with emotion during her post-fight interview with Michael Bisping. She revealed what it meant for her to win with her grandmother’s memory fresh on her mind.

“My grandma raised me. I believe she got to watch me from heaven and one thing I really wanted her to know was that I can have fun doing this,” Miller told reporters including Cageside Press at her post-fight scrum.

“I think especially coming off of a few losses. You build up this fear or do I belong here? Do I deserve to be here? Am I a failure? I really just wanted to enjoy every second of the process, and I got to. I’m so grateful.”

Miller carried her grandmother with her all of fight week. She even wore some of her clothing.

“I got to wear my grandma’s fur coat which was absolutely incredible. I’m just so happy to be here, and I’m happy to be back in the winner’s circle.”

The win over Petrovic snapped a two-fight losing streak and saved her spot on the roster seemingly. With the win secured she looked ahead to the future, but didn’t mention any names.

“The two girls I have in mind I’m not sure if they’re currently contracted in UFC still. So I’ll leave that up to Mick (Maynard),” she said.

“I’m improving everywhere. I’m healthy and I’d like to take a little time to improve before I hop back in there, but I’m ready and I’m grateful.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Julianna Miller above.

The post Julianna Miller Fought With Heavy Heart Following Grandmother’s Passing appeared first on Cageside Press.

“I’ve been riding the usual ‘good vibes’ wave. Every fight I come into I’m always feeling great. Best shape of my life. Yesterday was my 33rd birthday. A lot of great vibes yesterday. Weights coming off so smooth everything in camp went smooth. I can’t tell you enough how great I feel and how much support I have,” Walker told Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.

With the wealth of experience that Walker holds fight week isn’t as daunting for her as it is for many fighters getting their start in the UFC coming off The Ultimate Fighter experience.

“In a lot of ways it feels exactly the same (as other fights). Everything’s running really smooth, and according to plan. In a lot of ways it feels like the same. I know that there should be a little bit extra pressure here, but I thrive under pressure and I feel like, with everything leading up to this, it’s just….it all kind of adds to it for me,” she said.

Even though TUF is over Walker still feels the support of Team Nunes and the coaches who helped her during the show.

“Man I want this win for Team Nunes as well. I know that we’re all competing as individuals, but I could not have had the performances in the house that I had and had gotten to this point without all of the support from Amanda, Nina, and their coaches,” Walker said.

“Them working with my coaches even now. They put that time into me as a martial artist. They care about me and it shows. It shows in my camp. I’ve got a lot of people with really good fight IQ out there that are helping me to work towards getting prepared for this fight. I feel so prepared.”

Standing across from her will be Julianna Miller who doesn’t have the same level of experience as Walker, but still had the skill to make it to the finals.

“I like this aggressive pressure. I think it’s going to be a good fight and that makes for great fights. We’ll leave it at that.”

As for the fight itself Walker likened it to her coach’s performance at UFC 277.

“There’s a storm coming for sure. I’m prepared for that, but going back to the styles we have in this matchup, Julianna and I. I see this, you know, one of those highlight reel finishes,” Walker said.

“That pressure coming in, timing it. You guys watched the Amanda-Julianna fight. My coach fought a lot like me in that fight. I either see it going just like that except more blood or I see one of those highlight reel knockouts.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Brogan Walker above. UFC Vegas 59 takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday August 6th.

The post UFC Vegas 59: Brogan Walker Looking For Highlight Reel Finish Of Miller appeared first on Cageside Press.

Miller (2-1) comes off the TUF experience which she described as a “rollercoaster”.

“You know the ones that have the water at the end where you get kind of splashes and you like it, but at the same time you’re kind of puzzled like ‘Oh shhh! What’s going on here’. It (TUF) really is just like a wild ride. I’m grateful for the whole experience, but if someone was like ‘Hey Juju, you want to go back to The Ultimate Fighter tomorrow for another two fights?’ I would be like no thank you,” Miller said to Cageside Press among other media on Wednesday.

Standing opposite of Miller is Walker who comes into UFC Vegas 59 with quite a bit more experience in MMA than Miller does.

“As I’m sure ya’ll have heard time and time again, she has so much more experience than me. She’s been fighting forever, and said is going to knock me the f out as soon as I step forward,” Miller said with a sarcastic tone.

“Almost all of that is true. She is a more experienced fighter, she’s been in here forever, she’s incredibly strong. She’s got a brick-like body. I mean from top to bottom she’s absolutely solid.”

The compliments ended there.

“However, she’s not a fan favorite because she’s not entertaining to watch. I’m here to bring the entertainment, to bring the fun, to bring a dog fight, to show you guys why you’re fans of this sport,” Miller said.

“We’re here for war. It’s not just about winning. It’s about your energy and your showmanship throughout the entirety of the process. To be quite frank, I like teaching people a lesson so I’m here to humbly give that to Brogan about all the mean things that she’s been saying. Because I’ve been nothing short of respectful.”

With a 2-1 record coming into the biggest MMA promotion on the planet can be daunting for a fighter who is still learning the game early on in her career.

“Terrifying. Absolutely terrifying if I’m being quite honest. A lot of people have the opportunity to slowly build their record kind of choose their fights. I did not. However, here’s the thing. I’m constantly underestimated because I have ‘no experience’. There’s an extreme amount of room for growth. Every single fight I step in the cage people are like ‘Who is this woman? She’s a new fighter’,” Miller said.

“With girls like Brogan that have been doing the same thing forever and ever guess who we’re going to see in that cage on Saturday? The same Brogan Walker we have seen for the past 9 fights. Guess who you’re going to see in the cage from me? You’re going to see a brand new killer.”

Miller made her point, but she continued on.

“You’re going to see a composure like you’ve never seen before and a tenacity that never leaves my soul. It’s something quite exciting actually to have the lack of experience. She has no idea what I’ve learned. She has no idea what I’m going to be doing. She thinks that I’m going to stick my head down and rush at her….which may be partially true, I mean we all know the bullhorns, I’m coming at ya,” said Miller.

“But it’s going to be with an intellectual level that she’s not prepared for because I’ve grown so much and I’m so new in this sport. So as scary as it is it’s quite exciting.”

Watch the entire media day scrum with Julianna Miller above. UFC Vegas 59 takes place at the UFC APEX in Las Vegas, NV on Saturday August 6th.

The post UFC Vegas 59: Julianna Miller Is Excited To Humble Walker, Talks TUF ‘Rollercoaster’ appeared first on Cageside Press.