On Saturday, the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced that middleweight fighter Yoshihiro Akiyama was withdrawing from his upcoming UFC 128 bout with Nate Marquardt because of the devastating Tsunami that rocked Japan after the biggest earthquake in Japan’s history, an 8.9 on the Richter scale, took place off that country’s north eastern coastline.
Looking for a last minute replacement, the UFC called on Dan Miller (13-4, 1NC) to step in with just one weeks notice.
Miller was already scheduled to fight on the card against friend Nick Catone, so it wasn’t as if he wasn’t prepared for the date. Now he’ll join his younger brother Jim Miller, who faces Kamal Sholorus on the pay-per-view card, a first for the two who have fought on the same UFC event before just never on the main card.
In an article at UFC.com, Miller talked about meeting Marquardt.
Miller, while concerned about the tragedy in Japan, is looking forward to his chance to take out a Top 5 fighter in the form of Marquardt at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ.
“Nate’s a great fighter and he’s proved it in the past,” said Miller. “He’s very well-rounded, and I can’t wait to get in there with him. It’s gonna be a great opportunity for me.”
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“Jim feeds off of me,” said Miller. “He works and gets amped up when I fight, so I think it’s good for Jim when he fights after me,” he said.
A win over Marquardt would be a boon for Miller, who is riding a two fight win streak after suffering three losses in a row at the hands of other top middleweights in the form of Chael Sonnen, Michael Bisping and Damian Maia.