But there’s always the debate: is fighting in your home area a positive or negative? The discussion is sparked once again as Miller makes his eighth Garden State appearance as a member of the UFC roster this Saturday in Newark against Clay Guida.

“It’s cool to fight in Jersey,” Miller said. “There are some aspects that are a benefit but there are actually some aspects that feel like a detriment.”

The obvious detriments? Juggling ticket requests from family and friends, and the pressure to perform. That’s not necessarily the case for Miller – who said everyone around him knows not to pester him. Miller is a veteran in the game – he holds the all-time victory record for the UFC lightweight division – so the obvious things don’t bother him as much.

“Driving to the hotel instead of the airport and not flying feels weird. I feel like I have to go through that for fight week to start, I feel like a day behind, almost.”

Ultimately, the benefits may outweigh the detriments. Miller said his friends, family and students at the gym are coming to the fight and he’s happy they get that opportunity. And at the end of the day, you’re still not sleeping in your bed at home.

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Speaking of veterans of the game, Miller’s opponent is one of a few that could match his credentials. In fact, with over 50 combined UFC fights between Miller and Guida, it’s a surprise they haven’t met before.

For Miller, it may have been a blessing in disguise that it took some time for them to clash.

“If we fought two or three years ago, I was in a rough spot and it would’ve been extremely difficult to deal with his pace,” Miller said.

Two years ago Miller was amidst one of the roughest stretches in his career. He lost four consecutive fights but has since climbed back. He’s won two of his last three and he views the test Guida presents as the ultimate test to see if he’s truly back to form.

“This is a fight that could’ve happened at any time,” Miller said. “But me being where I am right now, physically, it couldn’t have been better for me. I’ve scratched and clawed my way back and I’m excited for the test. I know what he brings to the table.”

Miller isn’t the only one excited for their co-main event scrap on Saturday. Fans and the MMA community have the bout pegged as a potential Fight of the Night candidate. And while Miller agrees, he admits it’s not his goal.

“This fight could live up to the hype. We’ll both be aggressive and that’s the beauty of it. This fight does have potential to be one of those great ones. Of course, I’m not training for that. The first mistake he makes is the end of the night.”

But has anyone had a better past few months than Clay Guida?

Guida returned to the Octagon in May after almost a year layoff and defeated BJ Penn by unanimous decision. Then, a couple months later in July, Guida was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his legendary scrap with Diego Sanchez.

“The past couple months have been some of the most memorable of my career,” Guida said. “Not just for me, but for my family, teammates, fans and everyone that has supported me. It all started on a wrestling mat in a small little village and now we’re here on almost the biggest stage ever. I still haven’t gotten to that title fight match.”

At 37 years old and with 50 professional fights, Guida still does not back down from setting high goals. Who could blame him? Two years ago, Guida decided to end his run at featherweight and return to 155 pounds.

His win over Penn made it three victories in his last four fights. It seems like he made the right decision.

“I wanted to get back to having fun again and I realized lightweight is my home and my passion,” Guida said. “That’s where I started and that’s where I’ll finish.”

It’s that mindset that has made Guida so popular over his near 13-year UFC career. The wins and chasing the elusive title fight are obviously the goals for every fighter, but Guida has always put entertaining the fans at the top of his priorities.

“I always fight for the fans and put on a show for them, first,” Guida said. “They can expect to be on their feet cheering.”

The fans are also likely to be cheering for more action because it’s a matchup the MMA community has long been waiting for.

Guida is set to face Jim Miller at UFC Newark – a familiar, yet unfamiliar foe. The two have over 20 years of combined Octagon experience yet they’ve never went face-to-face.

“It’s insane we haven’t run into each other yet,” Guida said. “But as the old saying goes, ‘it’s better late than never.’ Come Saturday, the fans will be wanting more.”

Guida will have to entertain the fans of Miller, who is making his eighth Octagon appearance in his home state. For Guida, there’s no pressure fighting on someone else’s turf.

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“I’m super motivated and the intensity is high for every matchup,” Guida said. “I don’t care where it is.”

A co-main event slot on ESPN, fighting in Miller’s home, the opportunity to win four of five – the chips are setting up nicely for Guida to make right on his lofty goals.

With the UFC in the midst of a nine-week stretch featuring a fight card every Saturday and nearly seven months into an annual calendar that will deliver more than 40 events into the Octagon this year, you can understand how fans and observers can sometimes have a little difficulty remembering the names of the latest emerging talent to make an impression from time to time.

Thankfully for 23-year-old lightweight upstart Nasrat Haqparast, his name is not one that is easy to forget and just in case that wasn’t enough, there is one other helpful way of remembering him: just look for the four-fifth scale version of Kelvin Gastelum.

“Kelvin is an amazing guy,” Hasparast said with a laugh, addressing a photo from his Instagram page where he and the middleweight contender are flanking Master Rafael Cordeiro, the head coach at Kings MMA. “When I went to Kings, he wasn’t there, so obviously we couldn’t train together.”

Haqparast has heard the comments, acknowledges the two look similar and obviously was having a little fun with the MMA community and steering into the joke by posing with Gastelum and posting the photo on his social media channels in advance of the former TUF winner’s epic interim title clash with Israel Adesanya in April.

That said, the 155-pound competitor believes there are big differences in their styles and promises to make that clear when he steps into the cage this weekend.

“He’s an amazing guy and I like his style,” he said of Gastelum, “but I think we’re a little bit different and you’re going to see next week what we’re working on.”

After a slight injury late in camp scuttled a proposed bout with John Makdessi earlier this year, Haqparast will finally make his 2019 debut on Saturday, stepping into the Octagon in a Fight of the Night contender against Brazilian Joaquim Silva that lands towards the end of this weekend’s afternoon affair at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

“In my opinion, everybody in the UFC is good,” said Haqparast, prefacing his thoughts on Silva. “This is like Champions League; everybody is strong. Joaquim Silva, I like his style — he’s going forward, throwing punches and people nowadays want to see exciting fights with good striking exchanges and that’s what has pushed me in training.

“I know this guy is going to come to break my face, so I’m going to train hard to break his face,” he added. “I’m really excited about Joaquim Silva — it’s going to be an exciting fight. My last fight was a good test for this fight because (Thibault) Gouti also fought with good pressure. (This fight with) Joaquim is going to be Fight of the Night.”

Haqparast collected Fight of the Night honors in his last effort, a decision win over Gouti last October in Moncton, New Brunswick, and pushing his winning streak to three with a second consecutive performance bonus could help silence the critics and detractors who have been critical of his quick rise.

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The German prospect, who trains under Firas Zahabi at Montreal’s Tristar Gym, has been under the microscope since arriving in the UFC in the fall of 2017, as some questioned whether he was ready to compete on the biggest stage in the sport after amassing an 8-1 record on the German regional circuit, and his promotional debut didn’t sway opinions either way.

On one hand, Haqparast came out on the wrong side of the results. On the other hand, he was just a couple months removed from turning 22, took the fight on short notice and was still able to hang with Polish veteran Marcin Held for three rounds, impressing those who weren’t predisposed to being down on his potential.

Being highly scrutinized and saddled with lofty expectations is the kind of thing that could derail a young fighter, especially in the early stages of their career, but the thoughtful southpaw isn’t one to worry about the opinions and expectations of others.

“I don’t feel any pressure,” Haqparast said. “Before fights, I’m not nervous. Some people are scared, are nervous, they feel pressure because they want to impress people, but the most important thing for me — and this is my mindset — is that I don’t fight to impress people; I fight for myself. I don’t do it because of what people are going to say or to make people talk more about me; I don’t care about any of this.

“If you fight for other people, you’re lacking motivation. If you fight for yourself, to bring the best performance you can on that night, that’s different and that’s why I don’t feel any pressure. I enjoy everything about fighting and my training camp, even the weight cut.

“The only thing I don’t like about my training camps is that I’m far away from my family,” added Hasparast, who returns home to Germany following each fight and made a special note to thank his uncle, Bariz Soofi, for all the support he provides him and his family. “That’s a little hard, but I love everything about the fight so much, deep in my heart, and that’s why I’m never nervous because I embrace it.”

That attitude and approach is the type of outlook that can lead a young, talented fighter to make major developmental leaps between appearances.