Like fellow New Jersey native Frank Sinatra, UFC lightweight Jim Miller has been doing things his way. A former Cage Fury Fighting Championship and Reality Fighting title holder, Miller has used his ferocious style to catapult himself to the bright lights of the UFC Octagon, but the fire in Miller’s belly is not lit by the prospect of championship gold or the adulation of the masses. Instead, he maintains a deep commitment to his own personal standard of excellence and is poised to fulfill his own destiny, win or lose.

With a dominating win over the heavy-handed Duane “Bang” Ludwig at UFC 108 just two months ago, the New Jersey native is set to take on submission maven Mark Bocek at UFC 111 on March 27. I caught up and talked with Miller about his upcoming match, personifying a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, and a few of New Jersey’s finest exports.

So have you let the excitement of fighting Mark Bocek at UFC 111 in front of your hometown New Jersey crowd get to you, or have you been keeping it business as usual?

For me it really is business as usual. You know, it really doesn’t matter where I’m fighting. It’s cool that I’m going to have a lot more fans there, and that I don’t have to fly, but other than that, I’m stepping into the Octagon against a tough opponent, and that’s really what I’m focused on. Fortunately, the UFC fans have been great wherever I’ve been.