For the very first time in his entire career, Jim Miller has to pull out of a fight.
The UFC lightweight veteran is out of his UFC Vegas 37 main card showdown with Niklas Motta after testing positive for COVID-19. He revealed his positive test on social media.
“There’s a first time for everything,” Miller said. “In the lead-up to my 50th professional fight, having never pulled out of a fight before, I tested positive for ‘rona. So I will not be fighting next weekend unfortunately. I’ve already talked to [UFC matchmaker Sean Shelby], gonna stay on the grind, take a few days, load up on some vitamins and minerals and medicine and get right back into it and potentially even fight as early as October 2nd.
“I’ve never been the type to really get bent out of shape by things I can’t control, so this is how it always happens, right? You grind for weeks, beating the s—t out of yourself getting ready for a fight and it’s always in the last two weeks that an illness or injury happens and this time it just happened to be corona. I’ll keep you guys posted.”
Miller (32-16, 1 NC) has had a whopping 37 appearances under the UFC banner, which is tied with Donald Cerrone for the most all-time. He’s coming off a decision loss to Joe Solecki in April and was looking forward to a hunting trip in Colorado after taking on Motta, both those plans have been shelved.
As for Motta, it’s unknown whether or not he’ll get a replacement opponent or if the Miller fight will be rescheduled.
UFC Vegas 37 takes place on September 18th and is headlined by a light heavyweight bout between former title challenger Anthony Smith and Dana White’s Contender Series alum Ryan Spann.
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