It is interesting to look at a sometimes considered controversial figure, Jason "Mayhem" Miller. I admit that there may be a bias here as I was a fan of Jason. He came onto the scene in UFC 52 when he lost a decisive decision to George St. Pierre. This kid was rambunctious with his patented stripe of doom haircut. The world was introduced to one of the most entertaining fighters. Because like many of the fighters who found themselves in limbo within the United States, he looked towards Japan and the thriving DREAM organization. It was in this nation that he found a new insatiable audience who welcomed him with open arms. It was here that he had historic fights with Ronaldo "Jacaré" Souza, Katsuyori Shibata, and the battle hardened "Gracie Killer" Kajushi Sakuraba coming out to elaborate entrance music and improvised dancing. Miller was on the minds of almost ever hardcore fan.
In addition to his antics in the cage, MTV gave him a new platform to reach the masses. The network selected him as the face of Bully Beatdown, a revenge reality show where victims of bullying would ask Miller to help them out. Miller would confront the bullies and offer them a reward if they could survive two rounds with a professional MMA fighter. This made him a household name, making appearances on talk shows like Dr. Phil. With all this popularity, he became more marketable in the United States and Strikeforce signed him to fight Jake Shields on CBS at Strikeforce Fedor vs. Rogers. Even though he lost that fight his performance in the bout cemented his ability in American eyes. He came back and won his bout against Tim Stout and appeared inside the cage later that evening after Jake Shields had successfully defended his title against Dan Henderson at Strikeforce Nashville. After he was brutally beaten by Shield's camp on national television, he began a campaign against Nick Diaz, calling him out during shows and on the internet, reminiscent of the way pro wrestlers promote a fight. Suspended and barred from competing in the US he won a unanimous decision against Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16 in Japan.
Mayhem again found himself in limbo Strikeforce would not schedule a fight for him. However, on March 12, 2011 Zuffa LLC, parent company of the UFC, acquired Strikeforce and all its contracted fighter were now under the umbrella of the UFC. Miller got one more chance as the UFC selected him to coach against Michael Bisbing for the 14th season of the Ultimate Fighter. Miller presented himself well; he was playful, but it seemed he had genuine aspirations for the fighters. However, when it came to the two coaches facing off in the end, most people expected an entertaining bout. But what fans got was a one-sided beat down, Miller didn't appear himself. Call it what you will, UFC jitters, ring rust or an adrenaline dump. The fighter that had presented himself in the cage was a shell of the man who had almost choked out Jake Shields. It was the same story when he fought C.B. Dollaway. He was released from the UFC on March 27,2012.
It is here that his story turns. He began to antagonize reporters and even caused an incident on the MMA hour. It seemed like his career was imploding. On August, 13 2002 he was arrested on suspicion of burglary, after being found sleeping in a robe inside a church. In addition in August of this year he was arrested again for domestic violence. Mayhem had such a promising career, but he seems to have had a serious mental breakdown. I hope he is able to regroup and come back to the cage. Hopefully, someone can stop this self-destructive path he is on.
Thanks for reading my first post. Hopefully there will be many more
