UFC Fight Night 35’s Cole Miller has a run – and fast-tracked Conor McGregor – on his mind

Cole Miller said there’s more than one message to take from his infamous post-fight speech following his win over Andy Ogle this past October at UFC Fight Night 30.

The surface one was, of course, directed at Irish featherweight Conor McGregor, whom Miller still wants to fight. It was not really directed at European fighters, despite all indications to the contrary.

But Miller (20-8 MMA, 9-6 UFC), who next fights Sam Sicilia (12-3 MMA, 2-2 UFC) at UFC Fight Night 35, said there was an underlying idea when he angrily denounced MMA judging, fighters from across the pond and “Colin McGoober.”

“If you look at the subtlety of the message, I wasn’t really trying to do something for myself, so much as trying to do something for mixed martial arts,” he told MMAjunkie Radio. “I think guys should earn their way. I don’t think you should get two fights, come off a decision win, and not look all that hot, and because you’re trying to get a new country as a fan base, and trying to win over a new country, get a fast track to the top.”

According to Miller, that’s exactly McGregor’s situation, even as he recovers from an ACL injury suffered in a decision win over Max Holloway at UFC Fight Night 26.

McGregor’s popularity has exploded since his UFC debut and shows no signs of slowing down. Miller can’t fault McGregor for being a good fighter and maybe even a better talker. But he thinks that shouldn’t immediately qualify him to jump ahead of others who’ve been around longer.

“I think that paying your dues and having to grind, as so many others do, is best for MMA,” Miller said. “Not seeing these inconsistencies of these guys that come with hype because they’re trying to get a country of viewers.”

UFC Fight Night 35 takes place Jan. 15 at Arena at Gwinnett Center in Duluth, Ga. Miller vs. Siclia opens the FOX Sports 1-televised main card after prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

As a Georgia native, one could say Miller is helping win over a state full of fans. But he sees the both sides of being a hometown hero.

“It’s good to be fighting in my home state, but I don’t think this is the kind of guy that you can get too excited about,” Miller said. “Him having fought twice in Brazil against Brazilians, I’m not relishing in this. I’m not enjoying this, because I know he’s going to bring it. If he could fight under the pressure of people telling him he’s going to die, I think he can deal with a couple guys from Georgia.”

And Miller isn’t thrilled with the matchup in the first place, given that it came after an opportunity he feels was squandered for reasons beyond his control. A controversial decision loss to Manny Gamburyan at UFC Fight Night 26 was upheld despite his appeal to the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission, whom he said violated several rules in overseeing the bout this past summer.

Miller’s opponent, Manny Gamburyan, went on to fight top-10 featherweight Dennis Siver, who won a decision at UFC 168 10 days ago.

“Manny got my fight,” Miller said. “I wanted to fight Dennis. That was the fight I wanted. I felt like I got the wrong end of that decision, but he got my fight, and then the whole thing with McGregor getting the fast track.”

Still, Miller believes he can make a title run if able to stay injury free, which he said has been extremely difficult.

“I had surgeries in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2012,” he said. “That’s why you’ve been seeing me on these two-fight-a-year kicks. I’m not going to complain about my losses. All the guys that beat me were better men that night. But if I can go on a run where I can not get injured, and develop a little consistency, I’ll work my way up the ladder pretty quickly.”

As usual, Miller will take his frustrations out on his next opponent in Sicilia. But he hasn’t lost sight of his previous target: McGregor.

“You come in and you say you’re getting ready to fight (Jose) Aldo, and you call out the entire top 10,” Miller said. “Two of those guys are my teammates, and you’re going to call all of them out, and not even going to finish this guy that you just fought, who is not an experienced fighter – who is actually getting all his experience in the UFC.

“And you’re going to get the fast track? No, I don’t think so. He might be able to beat my ass. But that’s my point: Come beat my ass, and then you can move up the ladder.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 35, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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