NEW YORK – It seems like Jim Miller might fight forever, but after Saturday’s win at UFC 309, the potential future Hall of Famer confirmed that all good things must come to an end… eventually.
Miller (38-18 MMA, 27-17 UFC) notched his record-extending 27th UFC win when he submitted Damon Jackson (23-8-1 MMA, 6-6-1 UFC) in the first round at Madison Square Garden. The appearance was his 45 in the promotion.
Not one to usually indicate plans of slowing down, Miller said he has five more fights left – and that’ll be it. Fifty is the magic number.
“The 50 is the hard stop,” Miller told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “You guys can hold me to that sh*t. Yeah, 100 percent. 100 percent. Unless, they’re like, ‘A couple million dollars.’ Then, it’s 51. I’m ready to move on to other stuff. There are definitely parts of me that are ready to make a commitment to something else. It’s going to be difficult. It’s got to be f*cking hard to not get to do this.”
Miller, 41, said one of the biggest struggles will be figuring out what exactly he wants to do when he hangs the gloves up. Fighting is pretty much all he’s ever known professionally.
“I’ve never had a real job,” Miller said. “I framed houses with my father. When I was in college, I worked at Buffalo Wild Wings for a little bit. I was a pretty crappy fry cook for a couple months there. But yeah, I’m a fighter. That’s what I do. I know everybody’s road is different and I’m trying to create my own and be in a good spot to move on to something else. I want to have some energy left to do other stuff. 50 is a hard stop. The goal of mine is to get to 30 wins, so in those five fights, get three more wins and really put that one away. And just have some fun fights and fight on some big cards and fight some guys that I’ve been fans of forever.”
Not many fighters get to pick and choose the fights that excite them. But Miller is beloved by the promotion, as indicated by UFC CEO Dana White’s immediate agreement to Miller’s “deal” of getting to 50 UFC fights and then retiring.
To sum it up, Miller is comfortable with his legacy. The final five fights of his career he expects will be fun. He’ll soak in each and every moment until it’s time to walk away.
“I feel like I’m a really cool spot,” Miller said. “I’m in a different spot than most people. I’m in a different spot than most fighters before me. I want to go out and I want to put on shows, but I’ve also cemented ‘Jim F*cking Miller.’ I’m going to go out and I’m going to finish people, or I’m going to go out and get my f*cking ass kicked trying to do it. Finding the easy way out inside the octagon, Chael (Sonnen) has said it: Quitting is the easiest thing in the world to do. It’s so painfully easy to find your way out. ‘Things aren’t going my way. Oh, I broke my hand. Oh, I’ve got a giant cut over my eye. Maybe I should just turtle up. No one would think of any less of me.’
“But I know I’ve got this guillotine and I know I’ve got some of these other things, so it’s burned into my brain. Like, playing whiffle ball with my friends as a kid like, ‘Bottom of the ninth. Bases are loaded. It’s a full count.’ I’m still trying to hit that home run. Somebody could be punching me in the face while it’s happening but I’m still looking for it. You know what a Jim Miller fight is and I’m proud of that. That’s part of the reason why through some of the tougher times in my career, I’m still here. It’s because it’s what I do.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 309.