Jim Miller isn’t going anywhere.
There’s still plenty of fight in Jim Miller. The 38-year-old Octagon veteran notched another win this weekend when he TKO’d Nikolas Motta on the main card of UFC Vegas 48. The win was Miller’s 34th pro victory and 23rd win in the Octagon.
The victory tied Miller for most wins in UFC history. The fight itself also claimed Miller the record for most UFC fights in history (39). Other records Miller has under his belt include most wins in UFC lightweight history (21), most finishes in UFC lightweight history (14) and most submission attempts in UFC history (45).
In the post-fight press conference Miller expressed that he’s not going anywhere. With the gathered media he spoke about his storied tenure in the promotion as well as what he’d like to happen for his record-breaking 40th fight.
“… I look at the fighters that have come and [gone] in the UFC and in the sport of MMA, and I’m leaving my mark, and that’s cool,” he said (ht MMA fighting). “It’s cool to have an effect on the sport. It’s cool to get the appreciation of my peers. That’s awesome. Having 20-plus wins [in the UFC], having over 20 fights in the UFC – there aren’t many people [who have done that]. I’d like to know the average career in the UFC. I’d assume it can’t be over five [fights]. The attrition rate is very high… So to be associated with the likes of the legends of the sport, it’s awesome.”
When it came to his 40th fight, Miller had two names in mind.
“You’ve got [Joe] Lauzon and [Donald] Cerrone fighting and I don’t know what their plans are after that.. They’re both guys I’ve shared time in the octagon with. It’s like, I’ve got two [wins] against Joe – do you go and do it again? Fuck yeah, we do it again. I love that guy. If we could sell it and main event a small card because we’re two old guys that have been around for a while, then let’s do it and let’s get the main event bonus. And a guy like Cerrone, another one – I’ve got a ton of respect for him, and if he wants to do it, let’s do it.”
Miller first met Lauzaon in the co-main event of UFC 155 in 2012. The card was headlined by Cain Velasquez vs. Junior dos Santos 2. Miller won the fight by unanimous decision and both men walked away with a $50,000 bonus for Fight of the Night. The UFC would later name this contest Fight of the Year.
They met again four years later, at UFC on Fox: Maia vs. Condit. Miller was victorious again on this night, taking a split decision win over Lauzon. Both men were again awarded Fight of the Night honours.
Miller has fought Cerrone once in the past. They tangled in the main event of UFC Fight Night 45 in 2014. And it was Cerrone who scored the win with a head kick TKO, upsetting the crowd in Miller’s home state of New Jersey.
Miller is 5-4 since 2019 with all of his wins coming via stoppages. Before TKO’ing Motta this weekend he KO’d Erick Gonzalez. Over this run he has also submitted Roosevelt Roberts, Clay Guida and Jason Gonzalez.
Cerrone vs. Lauzon is currently set for UFC 274 on March 7. That card also features two title fights with Glover Teixeira set to defend 205 lb gold versus Jiri Prochazka and Charles Oliveira defending his 155 lb title versus Justin Gaethje.