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Jim Miller says cardio issues hampered him, aims for strong start at UFC 252

Jim Miller has been open about his battle with Lyme disease and how it’s something he’s going to have to deal with for the rest of his fighting career.

Ahead of his UFC 252 bout with Vinc Pichel (12-2 MMA, 5-2 UFC), though, Miller (32-14 MMA, 21-13 UFC) opened up on a new layer about how his fighting has impacted what used to be one of his best attributes.

“Being 100 percent honest, unfortunately my conditioning has been one of those things that has suffered in the last couple years,” Miller told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s UFC 252 virtual media day. “It’s been something I’ve been working on and trying to address and one of those things where there’s no excuse for it, but I have gotten tired in some of these fights that I’ve lost and that’s definitely something I have to go out and get the momentum early and keep it.

“I know if I do that it can be a good fight for me. I think it matches up well and I have an advantage really everywhere the fight goes.”

Miller meets Pichel in the lightweight featured bout of Saturday’s UFC 252, which takes place at UFC Apex in Las Vegas and airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPN and ESPN+.

The fight will mark Miller’s 36th UFC appearance, which will put him in the No. 1 spot for most fights in company history. No one in the game can match his level of octagon experience as of Saturday, and that certainly includes Pichel.

Miller’s past four wins have come by first-round finish, while his most recent loss came on the scorecards. Miller said he knows his experience edge doesn’t always spell the difference in results, he said he can work around his flaws such as the compromised conditioning.

“The way I look at it is I’ve fought just about everybody from guys who went on to become world champions, guys who were former world champions, from third-degree black belts in jiu-jitsu and phenomenal strikers,” Miller said. “I’ve fought them all. I’ve seen everything. He has been in the UFC for a big, but he hasn’t fought the guys that I’ve fought. So I feel like I do have a massive experience advantage. It doesn’t really mean anything when it comes right down to it. I’ve seen everything, so I’m not going to overreact to things and get caught off guard.”

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