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Veteran lightweight Jim Miller may be entering his 33rd fight inside of the Octagon later today (Sat., Aug. 3, 2019) at UFC on ESPN 5 inside Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, but don’t expect it to be his last.
Miller, who will be taking on Clay Guida in the co-main event, has fought almost everyone there is fight at 155 pounds over the past 11 years. He has defeated the likes of Thiago Alves, Joe Lauzon, Takanori Gomi, Charles Oliveira, and Gleison Tibau, en route to becoming a true staple in one of the toughest divisions in the sport.
While Miller is on the tail end of his UFC career, the New Jersey native isn’t expecting to call it quits this weekend at UFC Newark. That’s because when Miller does decide to wrap it up there will be no coming back.
“I’m not the type that’s going to come back,” Miller told reporters earlier this week (MMA Junkie). “That kind of excites me, knowing that last one is going to be play time, because there’s nothing left to hold back for. There’s no more trying to get wins together, trying to get in the rankings, all this stuff. It’s just go out and have fun.”
“When that day comes, I might tell you guys leading up to it. I might not. I probably will tell you. But it’s not Saturday.”
Miller, 35, doesn’t really have much to prove at this stage in his career. The UFC veteran is unlikely to make a serious push towards contention over his next few bouts, especially considering he hasn’t won back-to-back fights since 2016, but the promotion is still giving him big opportunities. Just look at his co-main event clash with Guida this weekend on big ESPN.
At this point, all Miller can do is compete to the best of his ability and ride it until the wheels falls off. That point of no return hasn’t quite come up so expect a focused and very dangerous Jim Miller this weekend at UFC on ESPN 5.
For much more on this weekend’s UFC on ESPN 5 fight card click here.