Miller ready to put on a show in flyweight TUF finale

One win away from earning a UFC contract, Juliana Miller will face Brogan Walker in the flyweight finale of The Ultimate Fighter 30 on Saturday’s Fight Night card in Las Vegas.

Miller is prepared for the fight, but in her mind she can already see the ending.

“Me getting my hand raised and thanking everyone who helped me along the way and Brogan laid out on the mat,” Miller told TSN.ca of what she envisions happening Saturday night.

At the top of the list of people that Miller credits with her success is the grandmother who raised her.

“She’s the only person who ever really showed me unconditional love and has ever really been there for me,” said Miller.
 
The 26-year-old will be entering the Octagon for only her fourth professional fight when she battles for the UFC contract on Saturday, compared to No. 10 for her 34-year old opponent, but Miller believes it’s her time to shine.
 
“I’m aware of the fact that I have extremely less experience. You know on paper Brogan should beat me up, but the thing is that all of her fights have pretty much gone the distance and she hasn’t really done anything to wow the audience or to wow Dana (White) and for me it’s such a flip of script,” said Miller. “I’m an incredibly exciting fighter, I put on a show, the people want to see me go to war and I just have a different kind of pressure that I don’t think she is prepared for and it’s just something I have inside of me.”
 
Miller was a member of Team Pena during the Ultimate Fighter 30 season and relishes the time she got to spend with then UFC bantamweight champion Julianna Pena.
 
“She’s so intense and I love her intensity,” said Miller. “A lot of people say we’re very much alike in a lot of ways. It was really cool, it was incredibly inspiring and I’m grateful to have had that opportunity.”
 
On her way to the final, Miller picked up two impressive wins in the Ultimate Fighter house, first defeating Claire Gutherie by unanimous decision and then locking Kaytlin Neil into a submission to book her place in the finale.
 
The San Diego native looks back on her time on the show positively because of the doors it has opened for her, but she’s not clamouring to go back into a house with 15 other fighters.
 
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had for many, many reasons. However, if you said ‘hey Juliana, in two weeks they’re hosting an Ultimate Fighter bring back, would you like to go again?’ I would say, f--- no,” said Miller. “I would of course do it all over again in the sense of the first time, but I wouldn’t want to go back for a second (time). It’s such a roller coaster, it is incredibly difficult living with all those people. That being said, it’s the biggest blessing I’ve ever had and I’m so grateful for the opportunity.”
 
Miller says one of the toughest things about suddenly being stuck living in a house with several roommates was the uncomfortable living arrangements she had to endure after living by herself.
 
“I was living alone at the time, before I went into Ultimate Fighter and I went into a house with 16 people who were very loud and obnoxious and there were so many times I couldn’t sleep and I would literally put earplugs in and two pillows over my ears and people as they lost their fights they would get drunk all night and be crazy and obnoxious,” said Miller. “There were multiple times where I locked my mattress inside of the bathroom just to try to get a good night’s sleep.”
 
She credits those experiences in the house with making her a better, stronger woman and says she’s ready to win her way onto the UFC roster.
 
“I’m going to be the Ultimate Fighter 30 champion because I deserve it, I want it, nobody works harder than me,” said Miller. “Because I have the heart and will of a warrior and I know that nobody can stop me and nobody can break me.”