When Clay Guida beat Anthony Pettis this past June, nudging the former WEC champ out of the immediate picture for a contendership, there were questions that Miller may have to wait longer despite a seven-fight win streak.
At the time, White's answer was no. But Miller (20-2 MMA, 9-1 UFC) said today that despite that endorsement, he's not banking on a title shot regardless of the outcome of his upcoming UFC on Versus 5 fight against former WEC champ Ben Henderson (13-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC).
The two meet in the co-main event of the Aug. 14 fight card, which takes place at Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
So despite the apparent stakes of the bout, UFC officials have made no promises. Or at least that's Miller's public stance.
"I haven't been told that explicitly," he said about the possibility of the Aug. 14 bout being a title eliminator. "In this business, you never know what's going to happen.
"If (Clay) Guida had finished Anthony (Pettis), he might have gotten the shot. Depending on how our fight goes, if I win, how the win goes – it all depends. They (could) bring (Gilbert) Melendez over from Strikeforce.
"So much could happen. It's such a fluid division, and there are quite a few guys who have built themselves up. I try not to focus on any of that, and focus at the task at hand."
Ahead is a bout with a man he may have underestimated in the past. Miller was outspoken in his defense of fighters in the UFC lightweight division after it was suggested that they'd be trampled by incoming WEC fighters following the shuttering of the promotion this past year.
That hasn't happened, at least in Miller's eyes. Henderson certainly has proven his worth, but he sticks by his words.
"What got me was there was some talk that the 10 guys that they were bringing over were going to steamroll everybody in the UFC division and just walk their way through, which I didn't think was very respectful to the guys in the UFC," Miller said. "They've won just as many as they've lost.
"It's 50-50 right now. And the biggest win they've had is Ben's win over Mark (Bocek). They're a tough group of guys, but this is a tough division. We'll see how it goes on the 14th."
While it's hard to imagine Miller isn't at least considering the possibility that the fight is his last hurdle to the goal he's been working toward his entire life, he said he's not looking further ahead.
"In my opinion, you have to look at every fight as the most important fight of your career," he said. "I have lots of wins, but if I had lost one of those, I wouldn't be in the situation I am right now. So my main focus is just on the 14th and Ben. It's a tough fight, and that's where my eyes are locked."
If he and Henderson turn in a lackluster performance, or the wind simply blows the other direction, Miller will press on nonetheless.
"I'm a person that wants a challenge," he said. "I want the tough road. I want to fight all the best guys, and if I feel like I can be the UFC champ, then whoever they're going to stick in my way on my way up to that point I should be able to beat.
"I'll just keep fighting. If they throw me in there against somebody else, then so be it."
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