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Juliana Miller Has A Point To Prove
Ultimate Fighter Winner Juliana Miller Wants To Desperately Make Up For Her Last Fight When She Steps Into The Octagon At UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos
To say Juliana Miller felt frustrated as she watched her unanimous decision loss to Veronica Hardy at UFC 286: Edwards vs Usman 3 is an understatement. The Ultimate Fighter winner felt immensely disappointed in her performance to the point where she questioned what she was even doing in the sport. That thought washed away, but the pain of the defeat is something Miller won’t ever forget. She’s a fighter whose heart is always on her sleeve, and she feels every bit of the emotional roller coaster that is fighting each time she lays everything on the line.
“It's either the best day of your life or the worst day of your life,” Miller told UFC.com. “There is no in between. For me, (the fight against Hardy) was one of the worst days of my life. It was just like putting so much time and effort into something and then failing. It’s one thing if you went out there and you try your best and they just caught you with a lucky kick or something, but for me, I had a lot more to give, and my body just wasn't reacting the way I wanted it to. I didn't feel like myself out there.”
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Miller pointed to the difficulties that come with traveling overseas for a fight in London, as well as not feeling 100 percent health-wise heading into the fight.
She also regrets basing some of her preparation on Hardy’s previous fights, saying she trained for “a girl who didn’t exist.” When the two fought in March, Hardy hadn’t fought in three years. When they stepped into the Octagon, Miller didn’t get the kick-heavy attack she anticipated, and she couldn’t adjust quickly enough to get the nod from the judges. Spinning it forward, Miller believes she addressed all the requisite issues and aims to show the form that earned her a UFC contract in the first place.
“It's really heartbreaking to know you can do better, and you just didn't,” Miller said. “That's something that you take on yourself. To me, I'm like, (Hardy) was a better woman that day. Although I feel like if we had a rematch here in Vegas, I would win that fight any day, it's just one of those things where all I can do is prepare to be the best version of myself. I truly feel that I am prepared to put my best foot forward here on Saturday night.”
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On August 12, Miller gets her chance to make good on her word as she faces UFC debutant Luana Santos. Miller respects Santos’ skills, which range from a black belt in judo to what Miller deemed “refined” striking.
But, as she did on The Ultimate Fighter, Miller anticipates making the fight a dirty, grimy affair with a high pace. She has a point to prove, and she aims to make that point the best way she knows how.
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“I'm shooting my shot,” she said. “I'm not trying to spend the rest of my life being a loser. Going into The Ultimate Fighter, I knew I wasn't the best technically. I just had heart. Now, I'm really going to learn like, ‘Do I just have heart or is it skill? Am I really skilled in this sport? Is this my future?’ For me, this is kill or be killed. In my head, I'm fighting like this is the last fight. If I can't go in there and fight well, then I don't belong here. This is dire. It's that important to me.”
Miller is bringing a “hungry and brutal” mentality with her into the familiar UFC APEX Octagon. She wants to push Santos into a “dogfight” to see if she can handle that type of pressure.
More than anything, though, Miller wants to perform the way she knows she can. She knows the pain of not doing as much, but with the “chips falling into place,” she expects to remind everyone why they should hop on the Juliana Miller bandwagon.
“I still need to prove to myself that I belong here,” Miller said. “This is going to show to me that I'm in the right sport when I get this win. I don't think anything will ever emotionally take away those times where I showed up and I wasn't the best version of myself, but I sure as hell can let loose some frustration on her face come Saturday night.”
UFC Fight Night: Luque vs Dos Anjos took place live from the UFC APEX in Las Vegas on August 12, 2023. See the Final Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC Fight Pass!
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