Aug. 14, 2011 was a bad night for Jim Miller. It was the night he fought Ben Henderson.
The rising lightweight star had been on a torrid run of seven straight wins inside the octagon, but could not come away with an eighth consecutive “W.”
Miller was out-struck and out-wrestled for 15 minutes by Henderson, who has since laid claim to the UFC lightweight title.
Though the loss is going nowhere, the New Jersey native will do all he can to ensure it stands as an anomaly on his official record as he readies to take on Nate Diaz this May.
One way to ensure this is, of course, train hard and dedicate himself to the fight. But that has never been an issue for Miller, who is regarded as one of the most energetic competitors in the UFC’s stacked lightweight division.
What Miller needs to do is listen to his body.
Before his bout with Ben Henderson, he knew something didn’t feel right.
“I should have known something was going wrong,” Miller recalled to FightersOnly, while also noting that he was diagnosed with a kidney infection and mononucleosis after the bout.
While many fighters would excuse their performance because of the illnesses, Miller decrees that Henderson simply beat him. He states, “He was the better man that night.”
For his less-than-stellar performance, the lightweight standout only blames himself.
“I am a big boy. I still signed all the waivers, stepped inside the octagon, still made my mistakes and he capitalized on them.”
While he claims full responsibility for the loss, he also notes his eagerness to rectify his mistakes.
“If I can earn my opportunity at him again, I’ll put on a show,” promises Miller.
But now that Henderson is the UFC lightweight champion, earning a rematch will not be easy. Before he even warrants consideration from the UFC brass, Miller will have to defeat Nate Diaz, which is a stiff test in itself.
But the challenge, and knowing what’s at stake, only gets Miller more geared up.
This is a really exciting [match] and I’m really fired up. I have a ton of respect for [Diaz]. His whole camp is a great group of guys, so I know what he is training with every day. So I really have a fire under my ass for this one, and I am looking at coming in the best I’ve ever been.
With a win over Diaz, Miller will position himself precisely where he wants to be—knocking on Ben Henderson’s door, calling for a chance at redemption.
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