Dan Miller: If I lose this I’m done
Dan Miller (11-3) is the former IFL middleweight champion and currently fights out of Whippany, New Jersey at the AMA Fight Club. The New Jersey native has gone 3-2 in his last five octagon appearances and will look to put himself back into contention at UFC 114.
Currently riding a two-fight losing streak to the likes of Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen, Miller will look to return to the winning side against “Ultimate Fighter” season 3 winner Michael “The Count” Bisping. Heavy’s Andrew Gladstone sat down with Miller to discuss his UFC future and the fight with Michael Bisping.
Heavy MMA: How did you first get into mixed martial arts?
Dan Miller: My brother Jim and I have been watching it for years, we’ve watched the UFC’s and the old Pride stuff like that. We both wrestled our whole lives. We were working for our dad at the time doing construction; we weren’t doing anything else at the time because it was boring. Then we both gave jiu jitsu a try and from there we just got into MMA.
Heavy MMA: What’s a day of training like with you and your brother Jim?
Dan Miller: It depends on the week; we have our manager set up the schedule. Mondays we do strength and conditioning with Martin Rooney, and we’ll go right from there to AMA and do wrestling, Muay Thai, or jiu jitsu.
Heavy MMA: What have you learned from the back-to-back losses to Demian Maia and Chael Sonnen?
Dan Miller: Just kind of train harder and keep going at it. There’s really nothing I can do. I mean, it happened and guys lose. Someone has to lose going into that cage and I just happened to lose those two times. I just have to keep going. I just need to train harder and be better.
Heavy MMA: With those two back-to-back losses do you feel it’s lit a fire in you to try and avoid a pink slip from the UFC?
Dan Miller: Definitely. The UFC is where I want to be my whole career. I don’t want to go anywhere else; I don’t want to fight for any other organization. If I lose this, I’m done. I’m very motivated to get a win. Also, I think this is going to be an awesome fight and I love to fight guys that are exciting. I think Bisping is a very exciting fighter.
Heavy MMA: How has training been going for your fight at UFC 114?
Dan Miller: Good, things are going pretty good. I’m staying pretty much injury free and I’ve been training hard, so I’m happy with how my camp’s been going.
Heavy MMA: Have you done anything different for this fight? Have you brought in any new training partners to mimic the style of Bisping?
Dan Miller: Not really. I’ve been just kind of training with everyone at AMA. I think we have a phenomenal team. I’m basically just trying to get better. I don’t bring in guys to emulate him. I don’t think there’s anyone that can fight like Bisping other than, you know, Michael Bisping. You don’t know what he’s thinking; you don’t really know what his game plan is going to be. You can look at film and see what he’s done in the past. I’m just trying to get better, that’s all that is.
Heavy MMA: What’s your take on fighting Michael Bisping?
Dan Miller: I think it’s going to be an exciting fight. I have a lot of respect for the man. He’s a very good fighter. Anyone that can beat Dennis Kang in my eyes is a very, very good fighter. I think he’s got a really good gas tank, he’ll go to the end, and I’m excited for that.
Heavy MMA: What’s something mixed martial arts fans don’t know about you?
Dan Miller: I don’t really hide much other than I’m into hunting and fishing. I have three hunting dogs, and every fall I take them bird hunting.
Heavy MMA: How do you see the fight with Bisping ending?
Dan Miller: You know I think it’s going to be a war, I think it’s going to be one of those fights that’s going to the end. It’s going to be a good exciting fight.