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AMBER MILLER
UFC’s Devilish Ring-Card Girl
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges Born in Denver, Colorado, ring-card girl Amber Miller moved to Las Vegas eight years ago, and she’s been tantalizing the hearts and eyes of red-blooded fight fans for the past eleven Ultimate Fighting Championships. Outside of ring-card work, the articulate Amber lives a hectic career life in Vegas. "I actually model full time and I bar tend two days a week. I do print advertisements for different products here in Las Vegas. I’ve been with UFC for eleven shows, so that’s got to be around three-and-a-half years now. My first show was UFC 40." To maintain her stunning figure, Amber mixes pleasure with pain: combining strenuous workouts with recreational sports, and although she dabbled in martial arts when she was younger, Amber’s fighting arts involvement is now from a spectator’s perspective. "I studied judo when I was really little, but I don’t any longer. I eat really well and work out at the gym, doing regular cardio and weights. I try to get to the gym at least four days a week. Because I am from Colorado, most of my hobbies are outdoor activities. I like to wakeboard with my boat all summer, and I snowboard all winter."
Amber has also made many television and movie appearances. "I’ve been on American Casino a couple of times because it’s filmed at the Green Valley Ranch, which the Fertittas own as well. I also shot the whole pilot for Dr Vegas, and I’ve been on random commercials. I was on a hospital commercial here, locally, and a couple of different casino commercials. I did the UFC infomercial. I also did the movies Rush Hour 2 and Three Thousand Miles to Graceland. "I’ve appeared mostly as a featured extra, or as a principal actor where I’ve had speaking roles, rather than as the ring-card girl. Usually it’s been in foreign films where I’ve had principal speaking roles. Like I had one in a Japanese film and one in a German TV show. They were interesting."
Amber intends pursuing a film career, and sees it as an opportunity to partake in an occupation she really enjoys, and to make an investment for the future. "I think that’s my best asset, only because the older you get, the less modeling you can do." As any UFC fan would tell young Amber, she has plenty of time to work on her acting skills. Ironically, Miss Miller commenced her ring-card appearances at Miller Light boxing events, and has made other appearances at shows in Las Vegas and New Orleans. But now Amber works as a ring-card girl for the world’s greatest MMA event, UFC, only, because she doesn’t want to make a name for herself as ‘just’ a ring-card girl.
Amber, for the many men out there wanting to know your marital status…? "I’m single. I currently have a boyfriend, but I’m not married." What traits do you look for in your perfect man? "He definitely has to have a personality, and he has to have an open personality to where he is fun, and adventurous…Because you don’t want somebody who’s afraid to take risks and is afraid to try new things." Is there a ring-card girl you enjoy working with the most or one who has been a good friend? "Well, I’m working with Rachelle currently; she’s really great and she’s fun to travel with. She’s one of the first ring girls who’s been able to travel with me, because we’ve had so many different ones. One of my very best friends got to be a ring girl with me a couple of shows ago. Her name is Valerie. There’s a picture of the two of us at the house for the reality TV show Ultimate Fighter (see Dana White article at knucklepit.com). We actually do the ring card work for the show."
Do you get a buzz walking around the Octagon when you get such a huge response from the crowd? "Ab-so-lutely! That makes the whole night for me. Being able to turn the crowd around when they’re booing, or when they’re in a mood, it’s nice to be able to get cheers." Do you have a favourite UFC fighter? "I have a couple - just because I’ve been with the UFC for so long, and knowing them on a personal level from travelling with them. I think being able to watch them fight makes you want to watch their fights. There are four UFC fighters in particular: Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Robbie Lawler and Matt Hughes. They are my top four favourites and I could watch them all the time. They’re good fun. They’re very good people." Did the fitness and professionalism of the fighters surprise you when you first started at UFC 40? "Definitely. You know you just expect them to come out and street fight. It’s often not seen as being as artistic as it really is. I was very surprised at my first fight, just to see how much mental and physical ability these guys have. And they’re always thinking about their next move or strategy to get the guy down." Amber, is there anything you’d like to add to this article? "I’d have to just say that the experience of working with UFC has definitely opened up my mind to real Mixed Martial Arts. I’d never even explored it…just regular stuff you see on TV like judo or jiu jitsu. But you never see it all combined. It was really cool to be able to see MMA as an art. And to see the kind of mental ability it takes to compete as well as the physical ability."
Amber Miller will be appearing at the next Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC 51, on February 5, 2005.
AMBER MILLER
Part 2
Exciting Times Ahead
Amber Miller at UFC 50
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges UFC’s longest-serving ring-card girl, Amber Nichole Miller, says 2005 was a very rewarding year for the Ultimate Fighting Championship athletes and for mixed martial arts in general. She believes the public are now embracing MMA and settling for nothing less in combat sports. Now the devilishly nice Amber is also receiving a lot more recognition for her work, mainly due to The Ultimate Fighter program on Spike TV. Just returned from a well-deserved holiday, Miller says: "I always start the year off snowboarding somewhere new. Last year I went home to Denver, Colorado. This year it was Mount Shafta. My dad lives in Northern California, so I went up there, and I also had snowball fights with my two younger brothers. We had a lot of fun." Now back in Las Vegas, things are looking very promising for Amber. "This past year was really eventful. TUF has been making UFC so widely popular, and a lot of people are starting to recognise me from the show," says Miss Miller, who is rapidly becoming one of America’s most sought after models. Surprisingly, Amber’s resolution each year used to be to make herself more known to magazines, so as to further her professional career. Today it’s the big-name publications that are pursuing Amber to grace their pages. As well as her extensive modelling
for UFC and US sporting magazines, Amber has done many billboards for
hotel and casino advertisements around Las Vegas, where she is
regarded as a local celebrity. She regularly features in publications
such as "Las Vegas Life", "VEGAS", "GQ",
"Player", and "Maxim". There is also the catalogue
work for companies such as TallulahG, Sexy In Miami, Anne Fibion
Waterwear, and most recently Venus Swimwear. Judging by public response, 2006 is expected to be a big year for UFC after the announcement of Liddell vs Couture III as the first UFC for 2006. Miller agrees with this prediction: "Yes, just from ticket sales for that first fight - they literally sold out in one week. Even at the UFC office, none of us could get our families tickets because they were all sold. They sold everything. "And other spectacular fights are in the works for this year. As a result, I believe that more people are going to understand the true sport of UFC. The dream I had last year for it to be more mainstream is now becoming a reality. Everyone’s watching TUF on Spike TV, and for UFC 57 to sell out in just days is like a dream come true. They have not sold like that before."
So, Amber, for the event to sell so quickly, that would have to make it comparable to big rock concerts or to boxing heavyweight titles in the past, wouldn’t it? "Oh, absolutely. And people who love the UFC often complain about boxing today being boring. They may recognise the names of some of the boxers, but the names of UFC athletes are now household names. The average person wouldn’t even know who held the titles in boxing these days." What fights stand out in your mind from ’05? "I’d have to say the Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonner fight. I think it will always stand out in everyone’s mind." What did you think of the news that BJ Penn will be coming back to fight in the welterweight division? "I think it’s a really great opportunity for him. I think he’s going to have to prove he can be a true sportsman, because before when he left it was under bitter circumstances, and I feel he has to display his sportsmanship as well as his physical accomplishments." Do you believe this will make things more interesting in that division? Before it looked like being down to Matt Hughes and Georges St. Pierre. "Georges is very exciting. And Matt Hughes is always going to be that true champion. Everybody’s going to love him. Any time Matt gets in the ring, people are going to be excited. He always puts on a good fight." In your last interview with knucklepit.com, you said Tito Ortiz was one of your favourite fighters. "Right." Are you looking forward to seeing Tito and Ken Shamrock as coaches of the next TUF series? "Absolutely. It was a really great choice, and will bring more viewers back. It’s definitely going to make it an exciting show. I think the idea of Ken fighting any more … After this he will probably consider retiring, just because to have been at the top, and to keep your name at the top…After a while you have to consider when you are done fighting."
Have you been doing any acting work lately? "The only acting I’ve done recently was for the Xyience commercial which was a lot of fun. I’ve been focusing more on modelling because it has become much more lucrative, so I really haven’t had time for the acting." Do you have your own website? "I do this year. That was a nice addition because when I first started with UFC it wasn’t something I thought about. But now with the extra exposure I’m receiving from UFC, I’m getting a lot of fan mail, which makes having my own website worthwhile." Amber, is there anything you’d like to add? "I’d like to say hello to the fans. They’ve been looking me up on the UFC website, and now they’re finding me on my site, which is really cool. And they’re dropping me lines saying they appreciate all that I do with UFC. I really appreciate them."
For more on Amber Miller: www.ambernichole.com For more on UFC 57: www.ufc.tv
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