The only fight Jim Miller ever turned down
“It was when Frankie and Gray were supposed to fight in the rematch for the title, that was after I fought Kamal Shalorus.”
With a combined 59 UFC fights and nearly 23 years in the octagon, it’s hard to believe that Clay Guida and Jim MIller have never stepped in against one another. Some of that might be attributed to Guida’s brief time at featherweight, but it still leaves the better part of a decade with the two men in the same division. According to Miller, it almost happened once before.
It actually has been close to being made, Miller explained to The Top Turtle MMA Podcast. Clay is the only fight that I’ve ever turned down.
A guy known for his anyone-anywhere mentality, it’s surprising that Miller has turned down even one fight. However, there was a pretty good reason for it all.
It was when Frankie [Edgar] and Gray [Maynard] were supposed to fight in the rematch for the title, that was after I fought Kamal Shalorus, he revealed. I went into that fight really banged up and that was one of the fights where I needed some time off.
Miller used that time to catch up on some things he had been meaning to get to. That’s the inopportune moment when then UFC’s former matchmaker rang.
Ended up doing some renovations around my house and stuff like that. So I hadn’t been training, he said. Joe Silva called me up and was like ‘You want to fight Clay in a week?
Even though you might expect Jim Miller to contemplate the opportunity, especially a much younger Jim Miller, he instantly turned down the fight.
I was like ‘no way, man, he recalled. I had literally not been in the gym for like 8 weeks… I got a little flack for that.
Ultimately, even accepting the fight wouldn’t have guaranteed that it would happen. The offer was part of a lightweight shuffle as part of the UFC 130 fight card and the shuffling eventually became too much for it all.
Gray had pulled out, so they were going to move [Anthony] Pettis in to fight Frankie, and then I was going to fight Clay, Miller said. What ended up happening is Frankie pulled out too to get his surgery as well. So it ended up not materializing anyways.
Now in 2019, we’ll finally get the fight that nearly happened in 2011. Although it is hard to break down what might have happened all that time ago, Miller is confident in where they stand now.
I know what to expect from him. I feel that I have a striking advantage. I feel that I have a grappling advantage, he said. It’s just a matter of doing my thing.
Miller will get his opportunity to do his thing and make up for his only pass on a fight this weekend at UFC on ESPN 5 in Newark.
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Author Daniel Vreeland is a co-founder of the Top Turtle Podcast, and a brown belt in Jiu-Jitsu at New England Submission Fighting in Amherst, Massachusetts.
