Jim Miller Is Ready to Retire After His 50th UFC Fight

Jim Miller has set an end date for his UFC career, and it does not depend on results. The veteran lightweight says his 50th fight with the promotion will be his last.

A new contract that was never meant to run on

Rumors spread after his last fight that Miller had signed a fresh deal with the UFC. He says that was a miscommunication. What he wants is for the paper he signed to cover his final fights, with everything finishing at 50.

That makes the count simple. Miller has three fights left, and the one coming this Saturday is the first of them.

Why he thinks the finish is already late

Miller spoke on Just Scrap Radio on BJPENN.com. He admitted he has dragged his career out for a long, long time. Before UFC 200 he was getting ready to retire, and then he learned he had Lyme disease, an illness spread by tick bites. Coming back from that, he said, has been a privilege.

Winning out would give him a four-fight winning streak, and he knows leaving after that could be a hard pill to swallow.

“I am ready to move on. I am ready to focus on other stuff.”

Boxing, and a return to wrestling shoes

Leaving MMA does not mean leaving combat sports. Miller is open to a boxing match or some wrestling matches in RAF once the UFC chapter closes.

He said the sport has given him a lot and taken a lot. His idea is to ease away from it rather than stop abruptly.

“I would like to maybe box once or twice and lace the wrestling shoes back up with RAF,” Miller said.

McKinney first, at Madison Square Garden

Before any of that, Miller faces Terrance McKinney on the prelims of UFC 334 at Madison Square Garden. It will be his 48th UFC fight. The prelims are the early part of the card, before the main card begins.

Odds quoted by TelecomAsia have Miller at +180. That price marks him as the underdog, so the oddsmakers lean toward McKinney.

The end of his career will likely come in the next few months. The opponents for the other two fights are not named.

Source: BJPenn.com