Article:Miller Ready For Ultimate Fight Night Showdown With Stephens

Ultimate Fighter season five contestant Cole Miller looks to continue his rise in the UFC. To do that though, he needs to go through up-and-comer Lightweight Jeremy Stephens from Des Moines.

Miller has won four straight fights, two of them in the UFC. "Magrino" is coming off of a unanimous decision against Leonard Garcia at an Ultimate Fight Night in September.

Miller was kind enough to give us his thoughts on his upcoming Ultimate Fight Night match against Stephens. The 13-2 fighter knows he is up for a challenge and will have to work hard to win his fifth straight fight.

"He's a pretty tough guy," Miller said. "[Stephens] has good stand up with heavy hands and a never say die attitude. It's exactly the kind of fighter I want to fight."

One advantage Miller holds over Stephens is in terms of height. Miller is 6'1" while Stephens is only 5'9". Miller acknowledges this.

"Well I train a lot to use my reach advantage," Miller said. "It's going to be up to me to utilize this. We'll see if it plays a role or not after the fight."

In a stacked lightweight division, a win can only help out the young Miller. A third straight win in the UFC can only make things better for the former TUF contestant.

"Hopefully a win will get me a fight on the main card on a fight night or move me to a Pay-Per-View event against a contender, but who knows," Miller said.

What was once a dead division in the UFC, the 155 lbs. division is one of the most exciting in Mixed Martial Arts.

The 155 lbs. division is stacked with plenty of fighters like BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Tyson Griffin, Roger Huerta, Kenny Florian and of course Miller and Stephens. There is no shortage of healthy competition in the UFC.

"There's plenty of guys to fight that's for sure," Miller said, "So, you don't have to worry about fighting your buddy or one of your teammates with the depth of talent in the 155 lbs. division."

The Ultimate Fight Night event on January 23 will also feature Miletich fighters Drew McFedries and TUF season 5 contestant Corey Hill. The event will take place at the Pearl Palms Concert Hall in Las Vegas. The event can be seen on Spike TV at 8 PM central time. For more information, go to UFC.com.