Jim Miller pitches Conor McGregor as a future opponent: ‘I hear there’s an Irishman looking for a fight’

He previously called Justin Gaethje a dream fight just because Miller knows that would be a slugfest from start to finish. But Miller admits there’s another name out there that would definitely interest him and it would undoubtedly be the biggest fight of his Hall of Fame career.

“Whoever,” Miller said about who he wants next. “Unfortunately, I think I might have broke my left hand in the four minutes that we were fighting. But I hear there’s an Irishman looking for a fight. I think that would be a fun one.”

The Irishman is obviously Conor McGregor, who has been plotting his comeback with UFC CEO Dana White recently announcing that he expected the former two-division champion to return “this summer.” Rumors are swirling that McGregor could potentially face Max Holloway as soon as UFC 329 on July 11 but no deal is done yet for that fight.

If that matchup happens, McGregor’s future may largely be tied to the result because with generational money already in the bank, he already doesn’t need to fight again.

But with three fights left until he hangs up his gloves, Miller loves the idea of having some interesting matchups along the way and McGregor obviously qualifies. More than anything, Miller just wants to get to 50 fights unscathed so he can walk away with his head held high.

“Now it’s like OK let’s get to the point where we’re satisfied with fighting and the numbers are kind of one of my things,” Miller said. “So yeah, I want to get to 50 [fights].”

As far as that final tour before retirement, Miller plans to celebrate every step of the way and he doesn’t mind that he’s going to face a lot of similar questions about his storied career.

In fact, Miller says he’s going to embrace every second of it whether that’s interacting with fans, media or the UFC putting the spotlight on him when he finally gets to that 50th fight. After battling back from Lyme disease — an affliction that nearly ended his career — Miller is thankful for every moment he still gets to step in the cage and compete.

“I’m excited for that,” Miller said. “I was so close [to retiring]. When I fought Diego [Sanchez] at [UFC] 196, I was so close to retiring at UFC 200. I was training for that fight at 196 and I was like I need to get through this and I want to get to 200 because it’s like hey you fought on [UFC] 100 and 200 and that’ll be cool. I think going through what I went through made it a lot easier for me to talk about it.

“I already dealt with it. I already had a camp where I couldn’t do anything. I was so broken down that the guys would be sparring and I’d be trotting on the treadmill because if I even thought about doing live [sparring], I was banged up for three days. I’ve already gone through it. I’ve already dealt with those demons and I conquered the ego with it.”