(photo from FCFighter.com)
He's 17-2 and has lost only to the undefeated Gray Maynard and to Frankie Edgar back in '06 when the two fought for the Reality Fighting 155-lb. championship.
And he and I have the same red Full Contact Fighter shorts. No biggie...
Anyway, it's tough not to root for a guy like Miller.
Battle Tested Jim Miller Welcomes “Bang” Ludwig Back to the UFC
by Matt Kaplan
Jim Miller is not your typical Spartan.
He was never left out in the woods or bathed in wine so that his elders could determine how tough he is. He’s never kept Messenians as agricultural slaves to farm his land, and he’s never killed a Helot for the fun of it. He doesn’t even wear a Thracian helmet, for crying out loud.
Nonetheless, Miller (17-2) - a native of Sparta, NJ – carries with him into his battle the same seriousness of purpose and tireless fighting spirit as those great ancient combatants.
It should come as no surprise, therefore, that after two opponent cancellations and one entire day of delayed air travel, the 26-year-old heads into his UFC 108 match-up against knockout artist Duane “Bang” Ludwig undaunted.
The heavy-handed Ludwig (19-9), a late replacement for the injured Sean Sherk, last fought in the Octagon nearly four years ago, when he knocked out Jonathan Goulet in a jaw-dropping, although unofficial, four seconds.
Ludwig may not have the name recognition of the popular Tyson Griffin – Miller’s originally scheduled opponent - or Sherk, a former UFC champion, but he is every bit as dangerous.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for him,” Miller was quick to offer. “He’s fought a lot of the best guys from all over the world – and done well.”
“I was really excited to fight Tyson…He’s a great fighter and I was really excited to get in there and mix it up, to be honest,” Miller said when asked about the assembly line of opponents that has led up to this weekend.
What particularly excited Miller was Griffin’s fight against Hermes Franca back at UFC 103. Griffin impressively stopped Franca in Round Two with strikes, and Miller was drawn to the idea of a fight with Griffin, a five-time Fight of the Night Award winner.
“I try to fight the toughest guys that I can,” Miller said. “When I do lose, it’s to a tough guy. I’m not going to go in there and give up against someone. They’re going to have to take it from me.”
So far, the only two men to have taken victory from Miller have been the undefeated Gray Maynard and Frankie Edgar, both of whom find themselves at the head of the pack of lightweight title contenders.
“I think I’ve earned the right to fight the top contenders. I don’t really know where a win [over Ludwig] puts me,” admitted Miller. “He’s a tough guy, a great striker. It’s just another win that gets me closer to my goal, and that’s being at the top.”
To get to the top, Miller faces a unique set of skills in Ludwig, who presents a vastly different style of attack than Maynard, Edgar, Griffin, or Sherk. Nonetheless, preparing for a world-renowned striker like Ludwig has been seamless for Miller and his AMA Fight Club training partners, despite previously having two wrestlers in the crosshairs.
“When I train for a fight, I’m training, basically, to get myself better,” Miller explained. “Maybe I’ll prepare for certain situations that may come up in the fight, but I’m just trying to get better overall. So there really wasn’t that much of a change – maybe a little change in the way that my training partners react; if I throw a combo, maybe they’d shoot in, but now they circle away.”
Miller relies on those AMA Fight Club training partners much in the same way that the ancient Spartan soldier counted on the men in his enomotia. Miller recognizes the value of AMA being made up of mostly hungry, home-grown New Jersey fighters and credits much of his success to his training partners.
“Everybody’s there to help each other. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard of some of these other big schools where it’s every man for himself. Everyone’s trying to be number one. We all get along really well, and we’re all trying to help everyone get better. We all understand that without the other guys training with you, you’re not going to be who you are. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the group of guys that I have back in New Jersey.”
As a former Cage Fury Fighting Championship and Reality Fighting title holder, Miller has been to the top of the proverbial mountain, but neither championship gold nor widespread acclaim compel him to keep working as hard as he does.
“For me, the most important thing is fighting my best and fighting to my potential. Winning is kind of secondary. If I fight the way I know I can fight, it should be over quickly,” Miller said in true Spartan form. “I’d rather fight hard and end up losing than fight like a sissy and win.”
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