Jim Miller is battling a “traumatic cataract” to his right eye following his unanimous decision loss to fellow lightweight Alexander Hernandez at UFC Vegas 69 last weekend in Las Vegas.
Hernandez, who stepped up on short notice, was the betting favorite for their main card opener and he ended up out-working Miller over the course of three rounds. Miller fought tough and nearly extended his UFC wins record to 25, but ultimately saw his three-fight losing streak snapped.
Making matters worse is the fact that Miller had some trouble seeing after his 15-minute scrap with Hernandez. The ailment forced the 15-year UFC veteran to take a trip to the eye doctor. That’s when Miller discovered he had suffered a “traumatic cataract” to his right eye.
“So an exciting development, depending on how you define exciting,” said Miller via Instagram (video shown in the above player). “I just got back from the eye doctor. That’s why I look like I was smoking parmesan cheese off the floor with the president’s son. I’ve got a traumatic cataract in my right eye.
“The doctor said that it might get a little bit better, but at this point — I mean it’s blurry even at half an arm’s length, but 12-feet away to the end of the room, if I close my left eye, I can’t really read the letters on the archery target. But I can see a motherf—ker standing in front of me, so maybe we’ll kick the can down the road a little bit, a couple of months. We’ll schedule surgery for August of 2024.”
Miller, 39, isn’t expected to be sidelined for too long. In fact, it sounds as if the veteran fighter is willing to put off surgery so he can continue fighting. Remember, Miller is hoping to get on UFC’s upcoming UFC 300 card in 2024 after competing at UFC 100 and UFC 200. It’s safe to say one bad eye won’t stop the veteran from getting his wish, especially if he can still see his opponent.
“My biggest concern is that motherf—ker behind me,” said Miller pointing to his hunting gear. “There is no way that I can see anything while looking through a peep right now. No f—king way. I’m right eye dominant. Anything that requires an eye alignment, I do right handed from archery to shooting whatever, playing pool, yeah so that’s fun. But we’ll see where we go.”