Jim Miller Says It’s Important For Fighters to Be Role Models

Jim Miller spoke with MMAjunkie ahead of his fight at UFC 200. Some highlights are below:

On considering retirement: “There was a side of me that was like, ‘Eh, maybe that’s (UFC 200) time to hang ’em up.’ But I don’t think that’s yet. I’ve been feeling pretty good throughout this camp.”

On his training process: “I definitely train differently now. I used to spar with 250-pound guys or whoever. I was always fighting up a weight class or two in the training room. Now I’m a lot safer. I miss mixing it up with the big guys, but I just can’t do it anymore like I used to.”

On being a role model: “I think it’s really important to lead by example. Even if I didn’t have my kids looking up to me and seeing how I act, more and more there are a lot of young people coming to these events and following MMA. I think it’s very important, even if we don’t want to be in that position, every one of us is still in the public eye, and we still have to act like a role model.”

On how he approaches fights: “I still approach every fight the same way. I’m going out to fight my fight and win by my standards and satisfy myself. I’m going out there to beat the tar out of somebody and put them away. Being on the rough patch that I’ve been on doesn’t really change the way that I’m going to go into this fight.”

On his UFC 200 fight: “I asked to be on UFC 200 in the octagon after the Sanchez fight. When I shook Joe’s hand, I asked to be on UFC 200. I think that when I asked for it, he accommodated it because I think I’ve earned the opportunity to ask for something like that.”

On what advice he’d give his younger self: “There were times early in my career when I slipped out the back door and didn’t walk through the crowd. Now I relish those moments of walking through and shaking hands, signing autographs and taking pictures. It’s part of it. That’s really the only thing I would tell myself, just jump on that a little earlier.”

On being a UFC member for as long as he has: “There are new faces here and there (in the UFC), but I’ve had the opportunity to fight and corner in other promotions, and nobody competes with the level of professionalism the UFC has. It doesn’t matter where you are or who it is, you’re still part of this machine that is just going to run; there’s no doubt about it. Comparing any of the other shows to them in the way that fighters are taken care of and the camps, it’s apples to oranges.”