COMBAT SPORTS
For ABQ fighter Miller, the goal remains the same
Just winning his UFC debut isn't enough, Ty Miller says he plans to do it with style
Win and look good doing it: that鈥檚 how sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Ty Miller earned a UFC contract.
On Aug. 12, on Dana White鈥檚 Contender Series at UFC Apex (recently renamed Meta Apex) in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the aforementioned UFC boss dangling the possibility of that contract, Miller put on what鈥檚 been described as a striking clinic in defeating New York鈥檚 Jimmy Drago by unanimous decision.
He got that contract.
And so 鈥�
Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Miller will step into the Octagon for the first time as a UFC contract fighter. He has, and has earned, that security.
Yet, he said this week in a phone interview, the urgency of that formula 鈥� win and look good doing it 鈥� still applies, perhaps more so.
鈥淚 want to be an exciting fighter,鈥� Miller said from Las Vegas, where he鈥檚 scheduled to face Eugene, Oregon鈥檚 Adam Fugitt in a welterweight (170-pound) fight on the early prelim portion of UFC 324. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I want to be for the UFC, and that鈥檚 what the UFC wants, at the end of the day.鈥�
It might be a stretch to say Saturday鈥檚 moment has been a long time coming, since Miller is only 25 years old. Yet, it鈥檚 a moment he鈥檚 been planning for, dreaming of, for more than a decade.
Miller was a wrestler at Sandia High School, but did so principally in an effort to round out his game for an eventual career in the cage.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved the sport,鈥� he said of MMA in a 2023 interview with the Journal, recalling sessions hitting the mitts with his father in the family鈥檚 garage.
Striking has always been his principal strength, as Drago discovered during their DWCS fight. Miller鈥檚 6-0 record encompasses three wins by knockout or TKO, three by decision, none by submission.
That doesn鈥檛 mean Miller is helpless on the ground or afraid to go there; his team at sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 FIT-NHB gym 鈥� head coach Tom Vaughn, wrestling coach Jon Judy, striking coach Matt Priest 鈥� have seen to his development as a well-rounded fighter. All three will be in his corner on Saturday.
The term well-rounded seems to apply as well to Fugitt (10-5), Miller鈥檚 opponent for his UFC debut. Five of Fugitt鈥檚 10 victories have come via KO or TKO, three by submission, two by decision.
The Oregon fighter has a clear edge in experience. Saturday鈥檚 will be his sixth UFC fight; he鈥檚 2-3 in the previous five.
Miller, who鈥檚 listed at 6-foot-2, won鈥檛 have the height and reach advantage he had over Drago, who stands 5-10; Fugitt is listed at 6-1 and, adding another dimension, is left-handed. But Miller, a right-hander, believes he鈥檚 well prepared for whatever Fugitt brings.
鈥淗e鈥檚 a long, lengthy southpaw who likes to kick off his back leg a lot,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淗e likes to mix in takedowns. If he鈥檚 not knocked out (as he was in his most recent fight, by Islam Dulatov on July 19), he鈥檚 pretty tough and durable.
鈥淚 know he鈥檚 game, but I just feel like I鈥檓 quicker on the feet and I can stuff his shots. If he takes me down, I can get right back up. I believe I have the ability to check, move, counter off his kicks and knock him out.鈥�
Any pressure he feels, Miller said, is outweighed by the excitement generated in beginning his UFC career at T-Mobile on the first UFC card presented by Paramount+ after the organization terminated its long relationship with ESPN.
Miller鈥檚 is the first fight on the card, thus is the first fight of the UFC-Paramount+ partnership.
It is more, though, he said, about 鈥渆xciting鈥� than 鈥渆xcited.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 looking to show,鈥� he said, 鈥淗ow exciting I am and how exciting the UFC is.鈥�
