#1 Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller
Trending
Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller is one of the most controversial MMA fighters, in the history of our young sport. Miller is a veteran of the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, as well as several other organisations. Miller’s martial arts base is Taekwondo, which he started training in at the age of 11.
Miller also has a strong wrestling base, having participated, extensively, in the amateur wrestling programs in high school. He also holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.
He has decent striking, good grappling and possesses a well-rounded MMA game. However, ‘Mayhem’ as he is popularly known as, is more famous, or rather infamous, for his exploits outside the cage; rather than his martial arts skills and performances.
On April 17th 2010, Miller interrupted Jake Shields during Shields’ post-fight interview after his victory over Dan Henderson. Miller did not have the authorities’ approval to enter the Strikeforce cage during the event that was broadcasted on live television.
However, Miller forcefully entered the cage; and began demanding a rematch against Jake Shields. In response to this, Shields and Gilbert Melendez got into a bit of a push-and-shove situation with Miller, that ended with Stockton bad boy Nick Diaz, getting involved in the tiff.
Diaz threw a punch at Miller which, in turn, lead to an all-out brawl inside the Strikeforce cage; now infamous, as the ‘Nashville’ brawl. The entire entourage of the Cesar Gracie Jiu Jitsu camp including Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, Jake Shields etc. attacked Miller while holding him down to the canvas.
This brawl was eventually broken up by the referees, members of Dan Henderson’s corner and the Strikeforce organisation’s security officials. Miller and the other participants in the brawl were given a three-month suspension and also fined amounts ranging from $5000-$7500.
In 2012, Miller was arrested after being found sleeping naked in a church. All charges were later dropped. He was then arrested on charges of domestic violence on August 11, 2013, and released on bail on August 12.
Again, no charges were filed. On August 22, 2013, he was arrested again on the same charge of domestic abuse. On August 26, the two charges were combined into one case with two felony counts of "corporal injury of spouse." Miller plead "Not Guilty" and his bail was reset at $100,000.
Also read: 5 UFC stars who can cut a better promo than WWE Superstars today
On October 9, 2013, Miller was arrested and on October 10, he was booked for a misdemeanour Contempt of Court charge for violating a "Stay Away" order, by sending a Snapchat message to the party in question.
Miller was arrested on October 9, 2014, after a five-hour-long standoff with a SWAT team outside his Orange County, California home. Miller gave live updates over the five hours via Twitter. As outrageous as this sounds, this is indeed true.
In March 2015, Miller was arrested outside of a bar in Laguna Beach, California and was charged with simple misdemeanour battery and resisting arrest. Video footage showed Miller outside the bar, putting up a fight against officers.
On October 16, 2015, Miller was arrested yet again after allegedly assaulting police officers. On July 11, 2016, Miller was arrested by Costa Mesa, California police for injuring a security guard and spitting on a police officer at the Saddle Ranch Chop House restaurant.
No charges have been filed on that incident, as of yet.
As outlandish as these incidents sound, Miller has indeed been involved in all of them; in some way or another. Although it would be unreasonable to place all the blame of all these incidents on Miller; he does deserve flak for being the main instigator behind several of these happenings.
Miller, while being a talented, life-long martial artist, has proven time and again that he, himself, is his biggest enemy. Furthermore, Miller’s outlandish acts and unpredictable, manic behaviour pose an obvious threat to the well-being of strangers as well as his own family.
Regardless of one’s talents inside the Octagon, one cannot claim to be a true martial artist whilst behaving like a goon outside the cage.
As martial artists, it is the responsibility of the MMA fighters to stay true to the code of martial arts; and maintain a disciplined approach to life, even outside martial arts. The aforementioned MMA fighters have achieved many things in the UFC as well as other organisations that many people won’t even dream of.
They have given us some of the best MMA fights, classics inside the UFC Octagon as well as in DREAM, Strikeforce, etc. They are dedicated martial arts professionals who made it big in the UFC.
However, when it comes to life, I think it’s safe to say, that they have failed themselves, their family as well as the society; as a whole.
Like the saying goes: Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future. No one is perfect. However, what these current and former UFC fighters have done, is not only hurt people but also endanger their own lives as well as that of others.
That said, let’s hope that for the sake of their families that these aforementioned martial artists change their ways before it’s too late.
Send us news tips at [email protected]
