K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May. This is week 3.

This week as a big week for K-1, as K-1 and Spike TV announced a multi-platform deal which means that the September 8th show will be streamed live on Spike TV’s website, Spike.com. Spike.com has been airing Bellator MMA events on there and see a healthy amount of traffic, which for this event only means that more eyes will be on it. We asked Jarrell if this changes anything for him.

“Nah, I mean, I’m motivated regardless. Even if this fight was shown in, you know, a hole in the wall I’d be motivated,” he explains. “I’m even more excited knowing that more eyes are on me now. At the end of the day, I know what I gotta do regardless. You know, I got my life on the line here.”

But that wasn’t the only thing that was new for this week for Jarrell, as he has ramped up his training considerably. Originally slated to work with Phil Nurse, they’ve switched up his camp a bit and brought in a new striking coach for him and the focus has been on his kicks, as his hands don’t need the same type of focus.

“Lots of kicking drills this week,” Jarrell confirms. “This week has been conditioning and a lottttt of kicking. I mean that, a lot of kicking. That has been my focus, because I’m always kicking, but not like this. I’m training way too fucking hard. You gotta recognize throwing kicks again, man. The stuff we are doing now it feels like I’m in a real fight while I’m training, it’s an entirely different animal. I mean, I’m working out two times a day.”

Indeed he is, as after last week’s interview a lot of eyes popped out when they saw that Jarrell, a 240lbs fighter, was running six minute miles. What is funny is, some of his training partners went out of their way to confirm that even though Jarrell is the biggest guy at the gym, he’s probably the fastest guy as well. When it comes to his opponent, Jack May, though, he has some choice words for him.

“I bet he hasn’t even sparred with anybody like me. I bet he’s never been hit with a body kick like this before,” Jarrell laughs. “I mean, fuck this, I’m gonna go in there and knock his head off. I don’t care if I gotta kill him to make a statement, knock his ass out and leave him unconscious on the mat for three minutes. I’m going to break some faces in K-1.

“Look, I don’t know this guy, I don’t know his story of where he came from, but I know it wasn’t as hard as where I’m from, as what I’ve had to overcome. This shit is real, this life has been tough and I’m tougher for it,” he reflects. “I already know how he’s gonna fight, I know he’s gonna do this in one of two ways. He’s either gonna come out fast and strong or he’s gonna come out and want to feel me out, do this pitter-patter shit. I don’t really care what he does, I’m going to take his head off in the first round, I guarantee it.”

As for if Jarrell is looking beyond this fight, it is safe to say that he is. “I was ready for him before I even signed the contract,” he added. “I’m ready all the way to December when I’m going to take the finals. I’m a bit disappointed because, there is like, no real crazy Kickboxing guy for me to beat in this whole tournament thing. I want Daniel Ghita, I want to knock his head off, but who knows where he’s at. You know, there is no Jerome Le Banner, there is no Alistair Overeem — I’d knock his head off, too, you know — there aren’t these high level elite guys in this, and I know that I’m a really good fighter, but I need that big win. I gotta beat the boss, you know? Mirko Cro Cop, you know, he’s cool, but he’s older, I’m gonna fuck him up.”

K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May. This is week two.

“You know, man, this is my Olympics, you know?” Jarrell Miller, one of the few younger fighters selected for K-1’s American return explained to me. “I came into Boxing and I was already a professional fighter, so I didn’t get to go through the amateur system like some guys do. I didn’t get to go to the Olympics, man. So for me, fighting in K-1, that is like the Olympics for me.”

To say that Jarrell Miller will be prepared for his upcoming bout in Los Angeles is an understatement, I think. Miller, whose Muay Thai and Kickboxing career spans 19 fights now has transitioned to Boxing where he has seen a deal of success in a short period of time. By the time he steps into the ring with Jack May in September, Jarrell Miller will be just about a year removed from his last Kickboxing fight, but he isn’t worried about being rusty.

“Man, I’m always kicking people, you know?” He jokes. He was scheduled to fight in May for Take On’s big show at the MSG Theater before he suffered an injury, but fought in a Boxing match the next month. “It was a minor setback,” he explains. “But I came back in July and fought in New York, knocking this guy out in the first round. I’ve been training Muay Thai again since that fight on and off, but I’m always ready.”

As for his training this week, he’s been pushing hard waiting for one of his Muay Thai coaches, Phil Nurse, to return from Denver where he was there to corner UFC 150 main eventer Frankie Edgar. They resume their training tomorrow and plan to ramp up with some intense sparring and drills. That doesn’t mean that he’s been slacking in the meantime, on the contrary.

“I’m doing six minute miles,” Jarrell explains. “We’ve definitely picked things up, like I said, six minute miles. No matter what else we work on, conditioning is number one. It is the most important thing, I gotta know where my wind is at. I’m doing a lot to prepare, working on a lot of things, but my conditioning is always on my mind, looking to get to that 100 percent marker and I still have a few weeks to do that.”

We shifted focus a bit to discuss the K-1 World Grand Prix, which he’ll have a chance to qualify for against Jack May come September 8th in Los Angeles. The Finals are scheduled to take place in New York, Jarrell’s home, but he isn’t looking that far ahead yet to competing in the finals, for right now he is focused on getting to fight in Japan come October in the Final 16.

“You know how I said that I’d knock Daniel Ghita out?” Jarrell asks me. “I’m gonna knock Jack May the fuck out,” he laughs. “Jack May is gonna be knocked the fuck out. Dude is just on the toilet and he’s just waiting to get flushed down it. That is what is gonna happen to him on September 8th.”

“I know that my main goal is still to be Boxing Heavyweight Champion of the world,” he adds when looking to his future. “I’ll fight anywhere, if UFC called me up tomorrow and wanted me to fight, I’d fight for them. Right now it is K-1, and I’m focused on that for the time being, but my main goal as a fighter is still to become Heavyweight Champion of the World. I’m not in this for the money, I mean, look, I am. I have a family to support and money is important, but this is about my legacy. I’m going out there to build up my legacy, and right now I’m going to do that in K-1. Either way you look at it, I’m training hard and I’m pushing. I’m training every day and I’m training harder and harder.”

K-1 returns on September 8th with the K-1 U.S. Grand Prix in Los Angeles, with an American line up of both old stars and new, K-1 looks to make its biggest impact yet on the United States with its own unique brand of fighting. LiverKick has the pleasure of bringing you, the reader, insight into the mind of one of the newer fighters to the K-1 ring, Jarrell Miller. Over the next four weeks we will be talking with Jarrell and bringing you his thoughts and preparations leading up to his fight against another newcomer to K-1, Jack May.

“Daniel Ghita,” Jarrell told me, without a hint of hesitation in his voice. “If I were looking forward to fighting one guy in this K-1 tournament, it would be Daniel Ghita. I want to whoop Daniel Ghita’s ass, that’s for sure.”

This is how I want to introduce fans to Jarrell Miller. To many, this would seem like an empty boast, part of pre-fight preparations and the process of psyching up to take on the world. Jarrell Miller, though, is a bit of a different case. Jarrell is only 23 years old, and already packs a 19-0 record in Kickboxing and Muay Thai as well as a professional Boxing record of 3-0. There is something to be said for remaining undefeated early on in a professional career, but it isn’t like Jarrell has been without challenge. Jarrell is a man with many nicknames, and if you were lucky enough to catch the WCL – World Combat League – when it was running, you’ll remember him as the 19 year old kid named Achilles King who defeated UFC superstar Pat Barry. That was Jarrell.

A win like that already puts Miller in the realm of American Kickboxing royalty, but what he’s done since then has been just as impressive. Currently fighting out of Renzo Gracie’s academy in New York, as well as his own gym on Long Island, Miller has brought one of the finest striking coaches in the United States to help him prepare for his upcoming K-1 debut in Kru Phil Nurse. The past few years has even seen Miller work with some of the biggest names in combat sports as a training partner for them, including Jerome Le Banner.

“Yeah, I was sparring with Jerome for a bit,” he laughed. “I don’t think everyone else got why it was such a big deal, this was Jerome le Banner! I was really impressed with his footwork and definitely learned some stuff from him.”

It doesn’t stop there, though, as Miller has been known to have a very good relationship with the two biggest names in the realm of Heavyweight Boxing in Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. Miller has worked with them preparing for fights now, serving as one of their favorite training partners. Of course, Vitali has also fought as a Kickboxer in the past, and for a fighter like Miller who began with Muay Thai before transitioning into Boxing, there is a lot to learn from a fighter like that.

“You know, working with Vitali and Wladimir is a great experience,” Jarrell reflects. “Vitali, he came from Kickboxing though, not like Muay Thai like I did, so it really is an entirely different experience. He may have had some success Kickboxing, but I’ve seen his fights and wasn’t all that impressed,” he laughs. “I know when we train I’m kicking their asses around the ring all day long.”

On September 8th he makes his K-1 debut against Jack May, who stands 6’8” and weighs around 260lbs, making him one of the bigger opponents that Miller has faced yet. On top of that, there is the entire American field of Kickboxers that K-1 has assembled for this show.

“His size doesn’t bother me,” Jarrell states confidently. “I’ve fought big guys before, you know, 6’5”, 6’6” and whatever, I’ve taken care of all of them without a problem. I’ve seen Jack May fight and man, I’m not impressed with him or his skills. Like I said, I train with the Klitschko brothers and I kick their asses all around the ring. I’m not sure that Jack May knows how to use his size to his advantage. There aren’t a lot of changes I’m going to make to my training, I’m just going to bring my experience and my skills to this fight.”

K-1 is going to be another challenge for Miller, who has recently turned to professional Boxing with his impressive 3-0 record and was set to make his MMA debut a few months back, until the show was cancelled. He doesn’t think that he’ll make his MMA debut any time soon, though, as he is focused on Boxing and K-1. He actually had two Boxing fights scheduled before K-1 called him up, until one of them fell through and he had a long talk with his manager before deciding that he wanted to compete in K-1, a dream come true.

“I’m focused on K-1 in September,” he states. “I want to take some Boxing matches, but K-1 comes first, there might be one after the K-1 fight just to stay sharp for the next round, though. This is going to be a good fight, I mean there is no quit in me. I’m gonna go in there and just go for the kill like I always do. I’m going to treat this like a Thai fight, and you know, I’m not doing this for the money or the fame or anything like that. I’m doing this because I love to fight and this is what I do. I’m a fighter. Most of these Americans fighting for K-1 are old, guys like Rick Roufus, Mighty Mo, but not me. I’m young, I’m fresh, athletic and I have enthusiasm to go out there and make a name for myself.”

Jarrell Miller is without a doubt on his way to making an impact in his K-1 debut. Miller has been a lifelong fan of K-1, citing inspiration from fighters like Ernesto Hoost, Jerome Le Banner, Masato and more and has of course set his sights incredibly high on taking out a guy like Daniel Ghita. On September 8th he has to make his way through Jack May first, with this being his biggest fight since his fight with Pat Barry on a big stage like this. Don’t count him out due to lack of experience, as the WCL taught him a lot of important lessons about fighting in front of bigger crowds, travelling around and fighting for a television audience. Come September 8th, Miller will be ready.

Join us next week for our next installment of Jarrell Miller’s K-1 training blog, where we’ll catch up with Miller yet again and discuss his training with Phil Nurse, who will be back in the gym with him after the UFC event this weekend.