Mayhem Miller the First to Crossover

[Buffalo Dave]

"Mayhem" is returning to the octagon.

Six years after a lone appearance at welterweight in which he was dominated by Georges St-Pierre, Jason Miller (24-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) is returning to the UFC as a thoroughly experienced middleweight.

Ryan Parsons, Miller's manager, today confirmed to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) that the fighter has signed a multi-fight agreement with the promotion following an initial report from MMA Fighting.

There's no word yet on an exact return date for Miller, whose contract with Strikeforce expired earlier this year. He had not fought for the California-based promotion since a now-infamous brawl with the Cesar Gracie Fight Team one year ago at the CBS-televised "Strikeforce: Nashville."

Miller was tentatively scheduled to fight Tim Kennedy at "Strikeforce: Columbus" before he was replaced by Melvin Manhoef. His most recent professional appearance came this past August when he submitted MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba at DREAM 16.

Looks like Miller the first Strikeforce fighter to officially join the UFC after the Zuffa purchase of Strikeforce.

I'm liking this, Does he stand a chance to dethrone Silva? Highly unlikely, but he will give us some pretty good match ups in the division. I would love to see a Miller/Bisping fight. All though this fight might not interest many, but I would also like to see him in a fight with Maia, be a fight showing some great BJJ between the two. Of course there is always the potential rematch with Jake Shields, depending on the outcome of Shields' fight later this month, or he can try and avenge his first ever loss that was to Chael Sonnen almost 10 years ago. Now we just have to wait and see you his first fight will be.

Anyone in particular you wanna see him fight??

 

[INDYjon22]

Well for starters I would love to see him fight Jake Shields again, but that isn't realistic, at least not until the title fight with GSP is over. Besides that I agree, a fight with Bisping would be entertaining as fuck. Just imagine all of the trash talk leading up to that fight. Also, a fight with Chris Leben would have me very intrigued. Both guys are exciting, like to talk and are characters. Once again I believe the hype alone would be worth that fight happening. Mayhem Miller, while I am not a fan, is a great cross over pick up for the UFC. He is an exciting fight with personality and that is something that will get him far in the UFC, that and winning of course.

 

[jmt225]

YES!

As I've let it be known, I am a HUGE Mayhem Miller fan, and he was the one guy I wanted to see crossover to the UFC more than anyone when this buyout occurred. I love Strikeforce, but Mayhem is the one thing that they constantly fucked up on over and over again. Just because they couldn't get the Diaz fight didn't mean Mayhem should have been sitting at home doing nothing, because there were plenty of fight options for him, but Strikeforce refused to pull the trigger for some reason. It pissed me off to no end.

Personally, I think Mayhem is one of the most talented Middleweights in the World. I dare say he's a top 5 BJJ guy in ALL of MMA, his stand-up has improved drastically over the years, and while he's prone to getting taken down, his scrambling and jiu-jitsu should be able to keep him from getting lay and prayed on by these worthless wrestlers.

Mayhem is an INCREDIBLE and very exciting fighter, with an awesome personality on top of that. He will be a huge star in the UFC, and I'm predicting he gets a title shot by 2012, and if it's against anyone other than Anderson Silva, Mayhem Miller will win that belt. Mark my words.

 

[Fizzy]

Miller is a great fighter. He will be a great addition to the weak UFC MW division. I don't know if anybody can beat him in that division besides Anderson. I am a pretty big fan of Miller even though the brawl left a bad taste in my mouth. I started watching some Bully Beatdown, and it reminded me of why I liked the guy so much before. He has a great personality, and is a fantastic fighter. Bisping would be a great first fight, and I see him getting a title shot sooner rather than later. If Anderson retires, Miller will run that division. The only other guy I see posing problems for him is Chael, but I can see Miller beating him as well.

I agree with you JMT. SF really fucked Miller over. The guy is so damn talented, and they just have him sitting on the sideline. His behavior at the brawl did deserve a suspension, but it is no reason to keep him out of action for this long. Can't wait to see him fight and I am sure the UFC will give him a fight before very long.

 

[Uncle Chester]

Miller's a great fighter who will certainly do well in the UFC. He's got great BJJ and is a solid striker and should be a damn good addition to the roster. And he's extremely compelling to watch and we need more guys like that.

 

[The Best]

Miller's a great fighter, and I do enjoy watching him, but in my opinion he has no chance in dethroning Silva. Would it be a close fight? Yes, but he would come up short, as Silva out matches him in every category.

Now, onto reality, I would really want to see him fight Vitor Belfort. Both are very exciting strikers, with black belts in BJJ, and with Belfort just coming off of a loss from Silva, than it would be interesting to see how he would rebound against another big name. Of course that would be a long shot because Vitor is scheduled to fight in Rio against

Yoshihiro Akiyama, great clash in styles, both are excellent strikers, and have different styles in grappling(Akiyama is a master at judo), and Akiyama could also pull off an entertaining fight(see UFC 100 vs. Alan Belcher), and watching these two fight would be a treat, since in my opinion neither of them have a clear advantage over one another.

Alan Belcher, Belcher's a stud in my opinion. He's only at 26, has a record of 16-6(with a very questionable loss to Akiyama), and just needs that one big fight that can really show Dana White how much potential the guy has, and that fight should be against Miller. Belcher's coming off of an eye injury that almost ended his career, and hasn't fought in almost a year, as well as Miller who hasn't fought in 7 months. Belcher said he would be ready to fight by September, so I can defiantly see a fight between these two happening somewhere along the line.

Demian Maia, Both are black belts in BJJ again(only Maia is like a 4th degree black belt), and Maia defiantly wants to prove himself to White for a possible rematch against Silva(he has a fight against Mark Munoz coming up). Also, this contest could be a grappler's dream match, as both have more than 50% of their wins coming by submission. Overall, I think these guys could put up a BJJ showcase of a match, which I personally would love to see.

Mark Munoz, Classic wrestler vs. BJJ matchup as Munoz is still trying to prove himself as a top contender and threat towards Silva's title as his time is winding down(he's 33 at the moment), and a match against Mayhem could defiantly propel him towards the top if he wins, which is defiantly possible. This would also be a good match for Miller due to Munoz's UFC experience, and could show that a change in companies means really nothing to him. Overall I could see this match actually being a nice strike fest as both men will stay on their feet if needed.

Overall, I don't see Mayhem automatically getting a shot at Silva, without at least 3 or 4 big wins against other top notch contenders. Also a rematch with Chael Sonnen from years ago would be fun to see, as that was only a 2 round fight, and also a match with Michael Bisping could also be fun due to each of them well being crazy. I look forward to see what Mayhem brings to the table in the already stacked middleweight division of the UFC.

 

[Buffalo Dave]

Well we didn't have to wait long for Miller's first fight to be announced,

He will fight Aaron Simpson at UFC 132 in July.

Not a bad match up. Miller can easily take this fight. Simpson was looking like a very hot prospect before dropping two in a row, first by getting his ass beat by Leben, then out wrestled by Munoz. He came back to put a hurting on Miranda, but I don't buy back into Simpson with that, because Miranda has sucked in the UFC, going like 1-4 or soemthing like that. Still a good fight for Miller making his return to the UFC. Simpson might have more power in his hands than Miller, but I still think Miller is the better Striker, add in Miller's TDD and BJJ and he is gonna be in control throughout this fight.

 

[INDYjon22]

Simpson is a tough challenge but Mayhem should win this fight no doubt. The only thing that interests me is that Simpson is a great wrestler and wrestling is Millers weakness. If Simpson can control Miller and wrestle him then he can win, but Miller is so scrappy that it won't be easy by any means. I can see Miller either winning by decision or maybe catching Simpson in a submission of some sort, but this is a good fight for Simpson. While I don't think he will win, he certainly can. Should be a decent fight.

 

[jmt225]

Well, first let me praise the UFC for not fucking around and immediately booking Mayhem to fight. I dig that a lot.

Anyways, definitely a winnable fight for Mayhem. Mayhem's better standing up, and if the fight goes to the ground... Mayhem should be able to tap him out with ease. I'm sure Aaron Simpson will try the lay and pray thing, but Mayhem's just too good off his back and at scrambling for Simpson to go three rounds holding the guy down. Simpson will blow his load in the first and Mayhem will put him away in the 2nd or 3rd, no doubt about it. Definitely looking forward to it.

 

[JWGunslinger]

I am so beyond excited to see Mayhem come back to the UFC! I love this guy and he is just what the middleweight division needs! I dont see him beating Anderson(although he would give him a great fight) but he can take out just about everyone else.

First topic i'll hit is his scheduled match up with Aaron Simpson. Aaron just doesnt seem to have it anymore, since the Leben loss he's been much different than the guy who tore through McKenzie, Herman and Lawlor. I think because of this more tentative Simpson it'll make it easier for Mayhem to dismantle him in whatever way he choses.

After this fight there are several fights I would love to see Mayhem in, I would really love to see him coach TUF but the best option in my book(Sonnen) is tied up in too much legal crap to make it happen. One thing is for sure, I do NOT want Bisping coaching again.

If he wins the Simpson fight dominantly I would like to see him fight the winner of Brian Stann vs Jorge Santiago, if not then give him the loser. I am a huge fan of Stann but I think it would be interesting to see if Brian could handle Mayhem on top of him(which I doubt but if he cant handle Mayhem he cant handle Anderson) and I think he and Jorge would have an all out war.
Sonnen would again be a wonderful match, they are both dynamic and the pre fight smack talk would be LEGENDARY. Use that fight to either send Mayhem after Silva or get Chael the rematch everyone wants to see. Other guys I’d like to see Mayhem against are Belcher, Maiia and Akiyama. I can't wait to see what he can do to the UFC's MW's!!

 

[Uncle Phatso]

Mayhem is a casual fans dream. I'm sure alot of people know him just from Bully Beatdown, yes I know.... but still it can bring in some more fans who allredy haven't tuned in for ufc in the past. Any buy for Dana is a great buy.

Miller is a monster with submission and has heavy hands that help him alot to. I've seen a few Miller vids on youtube, but to be honest. I've never seen him fight live. So this is a great experence for me to see a true great in his craft fight.


Simpson looks like a great person on paper. Has real good knockout skills, but he still looks pretty green. Mayhem is a vet that's most likely going to struggle aganst his wrestling. But he's going to work out into another sub in my book, he dosen't want to just lay and wait. He needs to impress on his first night out, and I hope he does that.

Also crazy entrances anyone?

 

[ArcherCC]

I'm happy about this, mainly because it was BS that he couldn't fight in Strikeforce since the Brawl, because CBS banned him, which pisses me off since they didn't ban anyone else, ya know like the Diaz's and all of that Camp who jumped Mayhem.

 

[INDYjon22]

I'm happy about this, mainly because it was BS that he couldn't fight in Strikeforce since the Brawl, because CBS banned him, which pisses me off since they didn't ban anyone else, ya know like the Diaz's and all of that Camp who jumped Mayhem.

Well it wasn't exactly a ban on Mayhem. He did get suspended for a long time, but so did the others involved, meaning Diaz and Melendez. Now, I don't know if their suspensions were any shorter then Miller's or not. The problem was that Strikeforce would either schedule Mayhem for a fight and then pull him out of it or they would just start rumors that he was going to fight and then not schedule anything. I know he was supposed to fight back in either February or March for Strikeforce but they pulled him out. But yeah, as much as I am not a fan of Mayhem Strikeforce dropped the ball on him.

 

[ArcherCC]

Well it wasn't exactly a ban on Mayhem. He did get suspended for a long time, but so did the others involved, meaning Diaz and Melendez. Now, I don't know if their suspensions were any shorter then Miller's or not. The problem was that Strikeforce would either schedule Mayhem for a fight and then pull him out of it or they would just start rumors that he was going to fight and then not schedule anything. I know he was supposed to fight back in either February or March for Strikeforce but they pulled him out. But yeah, as much as I am not a fan of Mayhem Strikeforce dropped the ball on him.

Actually Scott Coker & mayhem have both said publicly that he was fully Banned form CBS, the whole brawl group was suspended, but Mayhem was banned from ever appearing on CBS again, if need be I will find the interviews for you.

 

[INDYjon22]

I'll take your word for it but what I said is still right. Mayhem could have fought for Strikeforce this whole time seeing as Strikeforce hasn't been on CBS since the brawl. Being banned from appearing on one network doesn't mean he was banned from fighting on Showtime. I know he was scheduled to fight someone like Jacare or Tim Kennedy a few months back on Strikeforce but was pulled from the fight with idea being that a fight with Diaz was still in the works. I really could care less, Mayhem will be better off in the UFC anyways.

 

[ArcherCC]

The problem comes form, Showtime being owned by CBS. But like you said it's pointless since he is somewhere better now.

Nice talkin with ya Indy.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

I think this is very smart business done by the UFC. Mayhem is riding some unmatched popularity right no and is talked about all of the time. Casual fans embrace him because of his show (Bully Beatdown) and older fans remember him as an improved fighter. He will bring a good buy rate and is promotional gold. I'll make no mistake though, he is a good fighter with some serious BJJ skills. He should do fairly well in a deep talent pool that is the Middleweight division.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

I think this is very smart business done by the UFC.

The Middleweight division is the weakest in the UFC. Why wouldn't they want to bring in a "name"? It's not "smart business", it's common sense.

Mayhem is riding some unmatched popularity right no and is talked about all of the time.

Go on.

Casual fans embrace him because of his show (Bully Beatdown)

Bully Beatdown
- 0.756 million viewers
- 0.5/1 HH
- 0.3/1 A18-49
- 0.3/1 W18-34

Look at those ratings, my word!

and older fans remember him as an improved fighter.

Not really. I'm pretty sure any poster in this forum, even you, could beat up Sakuraba at this point.

He will bring a good buy rate and is promotional gold.

Which is why he's due to fight on the prelims of UFC 132.

I'll make no mistake though, he is a good fighter with some serious BJJ skills.

No and no.

He should do fairly well in a deep talent pool that is the Middleweight division.

LOL deep talent pool. Okay.

Watch out guys, International Superstar Jason Miller is going to take the UFC by storm.

 

[Final Form Snyper.]

A Guy's Boner - If you're going to try and shoot me down atleast be man enough to use your own opinions instead of hopping forum to forum plagiarizing other people's answers/opnions.

The Middleweight division is the weakest in the UFC. Why wouldn't they want to bring in a "name"? It's not "smart business", it's common sense.

It's still smart business. He a big name now. Big hype and alot of publicity.

Not really. I'm pretty sure any poster in this forum, even you, could beat up Sakuraba at this point.

How cute. This is the second time you thought you could beat a professional fighter. How can I take you so serious, when it obvious that you're delirious.

Which is why he's due to fight on the prelims of UFC 132

Again that doesnt mean people won't order it to buy it. Being on the prelim card doesnt make you a fan-less hack. Quit being moronic and post intelligently

No and no.

So you're saying Mayhem isnt legit as a BJJ practitioner?

LOL deep talent pool. Okay.

Your opinion, your entitled to it. I actually think the Middleweight division is pretty healthy. There are afew younger fighters coming up. Wait and see.

Watch out guys, International Superstar Jason Miller is going to take the UFC by storm.

Didn't actually say that. I said he would go good but I didnt see him wearing the gold there... Does lying just come naturally to you. It is pretty onbvious that you're drunk.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

A Guy's Boner - If you're going to try and shoot me down atleast be man enough to use your own opinions instead of hopping forum to forum plagiarizing other people's answers/opnions.

I'm not even going to dignify this with a response.

It's still smart business. He a big name now. Big hype and alot of publicity.

No, it's common sense. As bad a fighter he is, Mayhem has recognition for being "That Guy Who Hosts Bully Beatdown on MTV2" that some people have watched. You live in Australia, psst... nobody watches Bully Beatdown stateside. Regardless, nobody cares. If Mayhem had "Big Hype" and "a lot of publicity" to offer the UFC, he wouldn't be fighting on the Facebook portion of UFC 132, he'd be on the card over Dennis Siver vs. Matt Wiman, or even on Spike.

You're overhyping Mayhem. AT BEST, his upside is being in the middle of the pack of the Middleweight Division.

How cute. This is the second time you thought you could beat a professional fighter. How can I take you so serious, when it obvious that you're delirious.

It's called being hyperbolic to stress a point. Sakuraba is done as a fighter and is the biggest name Mayhem has beaten.

Again that doesnt mean people won't order it to buy it.

You're getting sigged for this.

Being on the prelim card doesnt make you a fan-less hack. Quit being moronic and post intelligently

It does mean that you don't have THAT BIG of a following, whereas you're insinuating Mayhem is a huge star.

So you're saying Mayhem isnt legit as a BJJ practitioner?

I'm saying Mayhem is a can crusher.

Your opinion, your entitled to it. I actually think the Middleweight division is pretty healthy. There are afew younger fighters coming up. Wait and see.

Go on.

Didn't actually say that. I said he would go good but I didnt see him wearing the gold there...

You're acting as if Mayhem is a HUGE boost to the Middleweight division. He really isn't.

It is pretty onbvious that you're drunk.

Stop using this as a crutch to your poor argument.

 

[ArcherCC]

I'm not even going to dignify this with a response.

Your comment in and of it'self dignifies that, as it is a response.

No, it's common sense. As bad a fighter he is, Mayhem has recognition for being "That Guy Who Hosts Bully Beatdown on MTV2" that some people have watched. You live in Australia, psst... nobody watches Bully Beatdown stateside.

I live stateside and love Bully Beatdown.

It's called being hyperbolic to stress a point. Sakuraba is done as a fighter and is the biggest name Mayhem has beaten.

So because Sakuraba is a couple years out of his prime that means he has forgotten everything he knows about grappling, hell I don't know tapping him still sounds like a damn good win to me.

....

Personally I like seeing Mayhem, at the very least he'll give us some great prefight interviews.

 

[Via Armbar]

I've never really found Miller to be funny. Not to mention Bully Beatdown is a pretty terrible representation of mma and really does nothing to improve it's standing in the eyes of non fans. At this point though, any 185er with decent skills and a semi-recognizable name is good for the UFC. It's easily the most shallow division in the company and let's be honest...when people are bringing up Bisping as a contender without him ever beating a top ten opponent you know things are scratching the bottom of the barrel. Pitting him against Simpson for his second UFC debut is a good choice. It's not too tough a challenge but isn't really an easy win either and I wouldn't be surprised if Miller lost. He's most likely never going to be a contender but at least a solid gatekeeper that fans will grow familiar with because of his personality. Sort of like a Diego Sanchez of the middleweight division.