Jane Havsy

@dailyrecordspts

SPARTA – For Dan Miller, a long-held dream of creating a new mixed martial arts training facility became particularly necessary while commuting on Interstate 80 West a couple of years ago.

He and his brother, Jim Miller, were preparing for their next UFC fights. Most days began with a drive from their homes in Sussex County to Fair Lawn for strength and conditioning in the morning, then on to AMA Fight Club in Whippany for striking practice.

His young son, Dan Miller Jr., was on dialysis for polycystic kidney disease, so the devoted dad was "driving in circles," adding a round trip from Sparta to Morristown Medical Center into the already time-consuming ordeal.

The Millers wanted to make their own decisions, chart their own careers —– and build a business that would last beyond their active fighting careers. Dan and Jim Miller's dream gym, Miller Brothers MMA, is finally scheduled to open Saturday in Sparta, their hometown.

The same hands which inflict pain in the MMA cage have built a 7,200 square-foot custom facility inside a corrugated metal shell. The Millers, who once worked a 16-hour day finishing a roof before a title fight, are applying their family-earned work ethic to a new challenge.

Miller Brothers MMA will host an open house Nov. 1, with sample classes starting at 10 a.m. They plan to initially focus on Muay Thai and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, slowly building a family atmosphere with classes for children.

There are three general-purpose gyms in Sparta, and a handful of facilities with a martial-arts focus in the surrounding area, according to Sussex County Chamber of Commerce president Tammie Horsfield. But the Millers have 30 UFC fights between them, and said they hope to keep students from making some of the same mistakes they did.

"Nowadays, there are a lot more guys doing it in a lot more places … so the level of competition is different," said Dan Miller, 33, who lives in Sparta with his wife, Kristin, and their children, Dan, 4 ½, 3 ½-year-old Katie, and Mackenzie, 18 months.

"Now's the time to share our experiences and knowledge with other people. The experience of what we've done will set us apart. … We want to build a program where anyone can come in and train and be healthy and stay active. It's not all about fighting,"

That resolve extends to their business plan. Rather than a high-priced but small storefront location, the Millers chose a more secluded spot in an industrial park off Route 15. Jim Miller had the layout redrawn multiple times before finally agreeing on a 2,800 square-foot main mat, which can be sectioned off using curtains, and a separate, smaller room packed with heavy bags and a miniature replica MMA cage. They have locker rooms with showers, and plan to add a cold tub, a perk which particularly excited Jim Miller even as he admitted, "That's going to be miserable while I'm doing it, but if it adds one more fight, it pays for itself."

"They come from that blue-collar background, so they understand what goes into it, and nothing comes easy," said Sean Santella, a former Mount Olive wrestler who will teach Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"I give them a lot of credit for building the place on their own. Jimmy was helping out during a fight camp. It was something. Growing up with these guys, and having that connection, I feel almost like we're all brothers. It feels great to be a part of it."

Jim Miller even designed the gym's logo: a pair of crossed hammers over a Spartan shield. It is a reference to their hometown – both brothers wrestled at Sparta – and their father, Mike Miller's life in construction. The family name, Miller, means crusher or grinder, and, Jim Miller said, they "often get called the grinding type of fighters. It kind of fit."

"We didn't really start this just to make money," said Jim Miller, 31, a Lafayette resident and father of three, Amelia, Wyatt and Cassidy, with his wife Angel.

"We wanted to have a place to train the way we know we're supposed to, and have a good group of people around us. When everything's running smoothly, it makes fighting a lot easier."

Nick Avalos, the Millers' Muay Thai trainer for the past four years, will work alongside Santella at the new facility. Still an active fighter, Santella will contend for the World Cagefighting Championships flyweight title on Nov. 15 in Pennsylvania. Dan Miller is scheduled to face Daniel Sarafian on Dec. 20, his first UFC appearance since spinal-fusion surgery. Jim Miller expects to enter the Octagon again in late January.

But the brothers plan to be present at their new facility, both training and teaching.

"This is where we're from. This is where we're going to be, for at least a couple of years," Jim Miller said. "It was either do it now, or finish our careers and see where everything is, and how everything shuffles out. Neither of us really wanted to wait any longer."

Staff Writer Jane Havsy: 973-428-6682; jhavsy@dailyrecord.com;