“The day that I stepped into the gym as an amateur, I was training to fight BJ Penn, and I wanted to beat the BJ Penn of 2005. I wanted to be the guy that everybody wanted to fight, so it’s not weird to be a guy [that people want to make a name off of]; I view it as an honor,” Miller said. “What it really comes down to is getting people to fight my style of fight in the Octagon; if I can do that, it doesn’t matter who I’m fighting because I’ll beat them.”
Another thing on Miller’s mind is becoming the first fighter to fight 40 times in the UFC. It was a milestone that he never knew he would be chasing, but twelve and a half years later, here he is.
“I just get excited to fight everybody. I want to fight the legends in the sport, I want to fight the guys that I’ve been watching for a decade or more like a guy like Bobby [Green] and a guy like Joe, who is a tough up and comer and scrappy dude,” Miller said. “He’s here for a reason and that gets me excited too. There are different aspects of every opponent that get me fired up to fight and every opponent is just another opportunity to show what I’m capable of and that’s what I’m looking for on Saturday, to show it off and have a fun night.”
Miller isn’t sure that he will make it to 40 UFC fights in 2021. He was on pace to make it before his bout with Bobby Green was scrapped in February, so now he just plans to take it fight-by-fight and not rush it.
