The legal web is officially spinning for Jason “Mayhem” Miller, the infamous ex-UFC fighter who made headlines when he was arrested on August 13, 2012 after he allegedly broke into an Orange County church, trashed the first and second stories, and covered the premise with fire extinguisher spray. Oh, and he was found naked, but otherwise coherent, on a couch on the second floor, thus living up to his nickname in spades.
Well, on Wednesday afternoon the Orange County District Attorney’s office took the first step in what may be a long road for Miller, filing one charge of misdemeanor count of vandalism against the fighter for his bizarre late-night shenanigans.
“Miller did maliciously and unlawfully deface with graffiti and other inscribed material, damage, and destroy church property, real and personal property belonging to Mission Hills Baptist Church, in the amount of $400 and more,” the complaint states.
What does it all mean? According to a report by MMA Junkie, Orange County District Attorney spokesperson Farrah Emami revealed that if convicted, Miller could potentially face anywhere from probation to a full year in jail.
Miller’s arraignment is now scheduled for November 21, 2012, where he will appear in court to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. Though, given the alleged absurdity of his arrest, one of those options would probably be more surprising than the other.
5 MUST-READ STORIES
Miller charged. Ex-UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was charged for one misdemeanor count of vandalism after allegedly breaking an Orange Country church, vandalizing the property, and being found naked on a couch on the second floor. If convicted, Miller could face probation or up to a year in jail.
McCall explains arrest. After an August arrest for driving on a suspended license, flyweight contender Ian McCall said he believes the real reason behind his legal troubles is that police thought he was a drug dealer. McCall served 17 days in Orange County jail for the offence.
The MMA hour. Ariel Helwani returns with another packed episode of The MMA Hour, featuring a lineup of Frankie Edgar, Ian McCall, Matt Mitrione, Tyson Nam, Sara McMann, and MMA Fighting’s own Dave Meltzer.
Ellenberger: Hieron ‘more dangerous’ than Koscheck. Welterweight contender Jake Ellenberger was surprisingly complimentary of his UFC on FX 5 opponent Jay Hieron, remarking that “The Thoroughbred” was actually “more dangerous” than his original opponent, Josh Koscheck.
Edgar excited for Aldo; Lamas initially offered bouts. Former UFC lightweight champion Frankie Edgar discussed the process that led to his blockbuster title bout against Jose Aldo and the challenges he faces fighting in his opponent’s home country of Brazil. Meanwhile, fellow featherweight Ricardo Lamas divulged that the UFC offered him fights against both Edgar and Aldo, only to have each potential match fall through.
MEDIA STEW
I, for one, never thought I’d hear Rainn Wilson (of The Office fame) insult Urijah Faber’s legendary chin. But hey, that’s why we have YouTube.
You’ve probably noticed UFC 152 commercials on TV that fail to mention anything resembling Jon Jones, Vitor Belfort or the new main event. Well, the UFC noticed that too, so here’s their brand new, re-cut promo.
According to this video’s description, “A group of students (crosswalk guardians) from the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu gym decided to put an end to the disregard of traffic laws.” Now I ask you, if a bunch of these crazies start swarming your car, how freaked out do you get on a scale of 1-to-10?
Ronda Rousey vs. Sara McMann could be the next big women’s match in Strikeforce, and it wouldn’t exactly be a tough sell: Olympic broze medalist vs. Olympic silver medalist. But if that doesn’t convince you, perhaps this dual highlight will.
(HT: MiddleEasy)
NICELY DONE
— Vinny Magalhaes (@VinnyMMA) September 5, 2012
K-FLO’S BLUE STEEL
BREAKING! First look at @kennyflorian‘s new pose, the “sexy Kenny,” debuting in Oct/Nov @ufcmag out 9/18 twitter.com/ufc/status/243…
— UFC (@ufc) September 6, 2012
ROASTED
UFC…by cancellation. ZING! RT @mmasucka: @joshlbarnett who you picking at UFC 152, Jones or Belfort?
— Josh Barnett (@JoshLBarnett) September 5, 2012
GO GET ‘EM YOUNG FELLA
#fighterproblems the first ring you give to your girlfriend is ring worm .
— Sergio Pettis (@sergiopettis) September 5, 2012
FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Announced yesterday (Wednesday, September 5, 2012):
N/A
FANPOST OF THE DAY
Today’s Fanpost of the Day is another incredible piece of work from John Nash: Wrestling With The Past: Gotch Versus Hackenschmidt, ‘The Event Of The Century’
“When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.”
-John Ford
“Professional wrestling… has no history, only a past.”
-The Phantom of the Ring
101 years ago today the most important match in professional wrestling history took place. There have been bigger matches in terms of money made, attendance, and viewing audience, but no contest in the intervening century can match the impact that the meeting between Frank Gotch and George Hackenschmidt on September 4th, 1911 had on the sport of professional wrestling. It was an event that signaled wrestling’s ascension to the top of the sporting hierarchy, ahead of boxing, baseball, and bicycle racing, and, coincidentally was the catalyst that transformed wresting from sport into “sports entertainment.”
The two participants of this most important contest, Frank Gotch and Georg (or George to the English speaking world) Hackenschmidt had dominated wrestling in the first decade of the 20th century. Hackenschmidt, or “Hack” as he was known, was not only the premiere wrestler of Europe but was viewed as perhaps the era’s greatest athlete. Born on August 1, 1877 in Estonia, which was then part of the Russian Empire, Hack was discovered at the age of 20 by the personal physician of the Czar, Dr. Von Krajewski, who brought him to St. Petersburg where he supervised his physical development along with his training in Greco-Roman wrestling.
By the fin de siêcle, “The Russian Lion” as he became known, was labeled by some as the strongest man in the world, renown for his incredible feats of strength, being capable of carrying a small horse on his shoulders, with a single hand deadlifting a 660 pound stone, or lifting a 269 pound weight over his head using one arm. But his athletic accomplishments weren’t limited to strongmen tricks: he excelled at swimming , running, and bike racing and once, on a bet, jumped onto a table 100 consecutive times while his feet were bound together. In addition his intellect prowess was equally impressive. He was a hyper-polyglot, who later in life would write several books, including those on philosophy.
As impressive as all these accomplishments were, Hack surpassed them in the grappling arena. He won the 1898 Greco-Roman amateur wrestling championship of Europe in Vienna before entering the professional ranks where he ran off one of the most impressive streaks ever recorded, winning prestigious tournament after tournament (although the legitimacy of many of these could be questioned) across Europe, including those in Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Munich, Budapest, and Hamburg. In 1902 he went to England, becoming the greatest draw and highest paid athlete in not only the British Island but in the history of the sport. He was a sensation facing “All Comers” (learning not to defeat his opponents too quickly less the paying public get bored) at music halls, and one particular match against “The Terrible Turk” Ahmed Madrali at Olympia Hall, triggered the largest traffic jam recorded at that time in the history of London due to the massive crowds attending.
George Hackenschmidt would go on to become the first true “World Champion”, unifying the American and European championships, along with the Greco-Roman and catch-as-catch-can heavyweight titles, by beating the American champ Tom Jenkins, first in 1904 in London under Greco-Roman rules and then the next year in New York City under catch-as-catch-can rules. (The NWA traced its belt’s lineage back to this match.)
By 1911 Hackenschmidt was reported to have participated in 3,000 matches (the number of legitimate contests is impossible to ascertain) with the only blemish in the previous decade being a loss to his upcoming opponent, Frank Gotch.
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