UFC Star Jim Miller joins the show, he talks about his longevity in the UFC, and looks ahead to his fight on Saturday versus Chase Hooper, and how he feels his experience will be the determining factor.
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00:00us here huh a legend joining us here you're going to see him at UFC 314 gym I can't say we're on the
00:07radio gym so I can't say your full name unfortunately today but join us here on the
00:11Toyota of Hollywood guest line shop 2000 twitters online on sale one location Toyota of Hollywood
00:16on 441 between Hollywood and Sheridan and Toyota of Hollywood.com Jim Miller an absolute UFC legend
00:22thanks for the time man really appreciate you thank you for having me on guys you uh you're
00:27taking on this this kid Chase Hooper we had him back uh when when he was 19 fighting on the regional
00:32scene here does it make you like do you do you like this scenario of taking on the young whippersnappers
00:38does it make you feel old or do you like uh teaching him a thing or two uh you know uh being old makes me
00:43feel old uh you know I I've been doing this for a long time um I've I've uh I've essentially
00:50averaged three fights a year uh in the UFC for whatever it is now 16 going on 17 years so
00:58um you know I've been like living in that that that crucible that is like fight camp uh essentially my
01:04entire adult life so um you know I don't have to fight 25 year olds or anybody younger to to to feel
01:11it at this point um but yeah you know like Chase is a he's a young up-and-comer he's he's a stud
01:16uh it gets me excited because I have seen him fight for a while now and uh you know I've been
01:21a fan of his for a bit Jim is this one of these situations like you've been around forever and
01:26UFC says you know what if this guy's legit he's got to get through Jim yeah you like kind of like
01:34the gatekeeper of like UFC and your division simply because you know you've been at it so long
01:42um you know maybe like the the term gatekeeper honestly in MMA kind of gets thrown around as
01:48like a little bit of a uh not a compliment right uh but uh it honestly it's like hey you know uh
01:56I'm here I'm here to fight um and you know I I have fought a lot of guys that went on to fight for
02:03the title and and and guys that became champ and um guys that that were former champ and stuff so
02:09like I've I've fought a who's who and and you know um it's really just about like for me it's
02:16just about the fight like I don't uh I don't I don't really look at it any other way than that like
02:21you know uh my job Saturday night is to go out and to win in a way that makes me happy you know which
02:28is is violent and dominant and um you know like I'm I'm there's there's not a picture of me
02:33in the octagon after winning uh a decision where where I'm happy you know and and and that's just
02:40that's just who I am so like yeah like the goal has always been to go out and win and win the way
02:46that uh that I get get pumped for it but um yeah you know like if these guys want to get through to
02:54the top of the division you know they have to fight their way up and uh you know um I'm here so
03:00you know it's bound to happen but the thing that's that's incredible about you Jim is like
03:05a lot of times we see when things happen with with guys in your sport and it gets to the fall
03:10off like usually it's like you go to the wicket pier there's a lot of red there I'm so impressed by
03:15the not only you're the activity that you keep every single year but you're still winning man like
03:20you're submitting guys months ago like how do you stay sharp like that because normally we see like
03:25once it seems like it starts falling off for a UFC fighter like it it's hard for them to get back
03:30in the mindset of just getting a win uh yeah you know I I don't know if we have the time to get
03:35into all of it right you know like there's there's a lot of things that have that have helped me uh
03:40you know extend my career uh and and honestly I feel like it's been some of the bad stuff right I I uh
03:48I was diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2016 um I believe that I was bit I had my first symptoms in 2013
03:55so I went about two and a half years uh pushing three years uh with with it undiagnosed and and
04:02the symptoms beat the the tar out of me you know um and and I felt like it was hey I've been a
04:10professional fighter for a decade uh you know fighting the best in the world this is what I'm
04:14supposed to feel like and uh I kind of just pushed it to the to the side and I was like this is my body
04:18just telling me I've I've been going too hard um and when I was diagnosed I I not that I had a bad
04:26lifestyle to begin with uh I just really really started focusing on those things that were going
04:31to make me better um through the Lyme disease while I was still competing and um honestly I think taking
04:38a that type of approach really has been one of those things that that added to my career um you know
04:46I started making a lot of those those decisions I mean food quality is one of those things that now
04:51in 2025 everybody talks about I was doing that 10 years ago you know because I had to I was forced
04:58to um you know it wasn't it wasn't just a choice it was like so I could survive so I could so I could
05:04continue doing what I love to do and support my family um you know so like I was I was I was pushed
05:11to make these decisions that uh were going to uh just get me through those hard times but they ended
05:19up helping uh with that longevity what is it about uh Chase like what are the things that you you uh you
05:25focus on because obviously you know the guy's been you know grappling since he was like a toddler you're
05:29obviously one of the best to do it so are there things that even like uh with all your knowledge like
05:34he he's just maybe not even be prone to just because you know you have miles and miles of
05:41of experience in the octagon with it um yeah you know what he he is a he is a tough dude and he's
05:46he's got that uh like kind of newer age um uh style of grappling right it's like it's very flowy it's
05:56very like you you don't push back um you know I come from uh you know my my uh black belt I got
06:03under Jamie Cruz who was known for his pressure game um you know and he's a Henzo Gracie black belt
06:09one of Henzo's you know uh one of his first I believe in his top 10 you know uh our first 10
06:15um so I come from that like more traditional heavy grinding style of jiu-jitsu and and honestly uh
06:24you know I've learned a lot of the new stuff because you have to you have to adapt you have
06:29to change um but you also have to play to your strengths in in the fight um so I I know what my
06:36strengths are and and uh I feel like it's a good matchup um but yeah he's he's tricky he he's very
06:42flexible um he he throws up his his legs from positions where uh there are a lot of guys that
06:49can't do that type of stuff and and myself being one of them I I can't I can't throw my ankles behind
06:54my ears you know and it looks like he can do that type of stuff so um he's very aggressive he's throwing
06:59punches in every position um you know like I said before like I'm a fan of his I I like watching him
07:06fight so um you know it's uh it it's it's nutty to think about like hey you know like he he turned
07:13nine years old when I signed with the UFC right like it's it's uh it's pretty crazy right you know
07:19he he is a he's a talented grappler but I was a black belt fighting the best in the world when he was
07:25in like the fifth grade you know so like he's he's training those like those crazy what the heck
07:31those little uh rubber bands that like you know they were like big in the in the 2010 era right like
07:36you know like and and I was a black belt fighting the best in the world so um experience is a tool
07:42it's a weapon um I've I've made uh made it my mission this entire time every time out there
07:49win or lose I'm trying to learn something new I'm trying to pick up something there are always
07:54mistakes I've never had a perfect fight and I I don't believe I ever will um so like I've been a
08:01student of the game this whole time so like you know that experience and and that mindset I I feel
08:08like carries me to win on on Saturday is there something like old school because we talk all the
08:13time on in sports radio like we're you know Leroy's like the run game is lost in football in
08:18basketball there's too many threes in baseball no pitcher can go past four innings anymore
08:22is there something as like uh in the old school that you will not break on you're like I'm not
08:27learning this new confounded thing that everybody loves in in in mixed martial arts um you know uh
08:34it's not necessarily that I won't learn stuff right um it particularly in like the jujitsu side right
08:41uh everybody tries to like make everything their own and it bugs the heck out of me that every position
08:50now has like six names and some of them use like partial Japanese and like you're you're always
08:58dealing with some Portuguese in there as well and it's like because everybody wants to name something
09:03a position and and and I I rag on my my uh my instructor all the time when he's just ripping
09:10out like oh well this is side saddle or or the honey hole or the you know outside ashi and all that you
09:16know and it's like they're all the same position you know just show me the position I don't I don't
09:20care about the name at this point so the the the naming thing is really the biggest thing that bugs
09:25me that I I just don't I don't I don't care I just I'll do the movement I'll do the move I'll uh
09:30I'll work on it I'll get as good as I can at it if it if it fits into my game I will I will make
09:35a part of my game if it doesn't I'll know what to defend it but I I don't care about the names
09:40he's like old school he he's not a fan of sampling either yeah come up with your own
09:45thing don't use somebody else's music and rebrand it uh Jim Miller we can't wait to see you this
09:52weekend UFC 314 he's taking on Chase Hooper a stack card at the Kaseya Center go get your tickets now
09:57if you guys want to go see it right at the Heat's house and of course available on ESPN plus pay-per-view
10:01always a thrill sir thank you so much thank you thank you for so much for having me guys that is the
10:05all-time UFC wins leader a a bona fide legend I was in the car the other day