New TUF 30 winner Juliana Miller says she’s out to put on a show and display her personality, which she certainly did at UFC Vegas 59.
Juliana Miller made quite the impression at UFC Vegas 59 when she won The Ultimate FIghter women’s flyweight tournament with a dominating victory over Brogan Walker. Walker had the clear experience advantage with a 7-2 record to Miller’s scant 2-1 experience. That didn’t stop Miller from controlling the fight on the feet and ground.
Asked during the post-fight press conference whether it was a bit overwhelming to be a TUF winner and UFC fighter so early into her career, Miller nodded.
“If I’m being completely honest, yeah I’m kind of terrified,” she said. “A lot of people had the opportunity to start slow and build up their fights, you know, at lower levels and a lot of girls come in here 5, 6, 7 and 0 and I’m not. I’m now 3 and 1…I know I said I was 3 and 1 on my way out there, but actually on my professional paper, it’s 2 and 1, now I’ve earned my 3 and 1.”
“So it is a little nerve wracking, but to be quite honest with you the fans, more than your record, they care about your showmanship and your personality, so I know as long as I step in that cage and put on a show, I ain’t going nowhere.
Miller certainly brought some personality to the end of her performance at UFC Vegas 59, doing the WWE Degeneration X crotch chop over Walker after TKOing her late into the third round.
“I just think it’s exciting to put on a show,” Miller explained. “More than anything, the ‘suck it’ just came from the fact she sat up here on the same table and decided to say that she was going to highlight-reel knock me out cold. It felt good to stand over her and say, ‘Look at you now.’”
We have our first #TUF30 champion!!
Juliana Miller with the late finish to become The Ultimate Fighter in the flyweight division #UFCVegas59 pic.twitter.com/jeFNIRVkGk
— UFC Canada (@UFC_CA) August 7, 2022
As for how she got into pro wrestling?
“My grandma, when she moved here from Brazil, she didn’t speak any English,” Miller said. “Pretty much, I was raised by her from 6 months to 5 years old. As she was starting to learn English, she said she loved wrestling because she didn’t need to understand the words to see what was happening. It was all through the action.”
“Honestly, when I came to my team, I was like ‘I want to be a pro wrestler one day.’ My coaches were like ‘Let’s give you a shot in the cage and see how you do.’ I ended up loving it, but that pro wrestling spirit kind of lives within me forever.”
That pro wrestling spirit is also on display in her social media posts, where she has no problem sharing a bit more of that boisterous personality that we saw immediately after her UFC Vegas 59 win.