With six consecutive wins in the Octagon, Jim Miller is on one of the most impressive streaks in the UFC lightweight division. Yet amongst a division that includes such hyped names as George Sotiropoulos, Takanori Gomi, Kenny Florian, Sean Sherk, Evan Dunham, Melvin Guillard and Clay Guida, not to mention Ben Henderson and Anthony Pettis, Miller’s name seldomly emerges in discussions about title contendership.
His UFC 124 plea for a title shot, which came after a first round submission victory over highly-touted prospect Charles Oliveira, thus fell on deaf ears for many mixed martial arts fans and bloggers.
Miller nonetheless reiterated his sentiment at the post-show press conference, reminding reporters that his only two career losses came to Frankie Edgar and Gray Maynard, who interestingly fight each other for the UFC Lightweight Championship at UFC 125. Miller would love to avenge either of those losses, especially with the title at stake.
But while UFC President Dana White was not yet ready to concede Miller’s status as the number one contender, he “agreed” with Miller’s post-show press conference reiteration that he belongs in the mix.
Speaking positively of Miller’s performance, particularly by applying a kneebar that he and Joe Silva deemed risky, White noted, “He went for it…went after the finish against a guy who is tough to finish.”