Dan Miller was born into a family of wrestlers, and spent his childhood wrestling in Sparta, NJ alongside his older brother, Mike, and his younger brother, Jim. After graduating high school, Jim and Dan began framing houses with their father, Mike, and looking for a way to satisfy their competitive needs began training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu at Planet Jiu Jitsu. Within six months of beginning training the brothers made their professional mixed martial arts debuts at Reality Fighting 10, with Dan securing a first round triangle choke victory. After his third fight with Reality Fighting, Dan moved to Cage Fury Fighting Championships where another one-round victory saw him earn his first chance at a title. Dan took on Lance Everson at CFFC 2 and following an early slam, transitioned to the back and sunk in a fight-ending rear naked choke to take home the CFFC Middleweight Title.

 

Following his first title defense, an injury to Fabio Leopoldo set Dan up with the opportunity to make his International Fight League debut, fighting for Renzo Gracie’s Pitbulls in the IFL Semifinals. Facing off against Dave Phillips, Dan caught Phillips as his opponent attempted to scramble from his back to his feet, locking on a guillotine choke which quickly put Phillips to sleep. The choke remains one of the most famous submissions in MMA history. The victory was impressive enough to earn Dan a title shot with the IFL, and a first round kneebar of the champion Ryan McGivern earned Dan his second belt, and a chance with the UFC.

 

Dan has been with the UFC for more than six years and has faced many of the toughest middleweights to ever step foot inside of the Octagon. With four submissions victories, including a Submission of the Night against Ricardo Funch in front of a hometown crowd at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, Dan can always be counted on to deliver an entertaining fight. Looking to pass on what they’ve learned in their near decade of experience fighting professionally, Dan and Jim opened their own mixed martial arts gym in their hometown of Sparta in November 2014, serving both fighters and casual martial artists. With a quickly growing fight team, they are excited to be grooming the next generation of New Jersey mixed martial artists, passing on their experience to ensure that New Jersey maintains its reputation as one of the premier breeding grounds for top MMA talent.