Last night, Jason Miller came up short. He trained for his fight, walked into the cage and into the fists of Michael Bisping.
It is something no fighter ever wants to have happen to them, but it did happen regardless of what he wanted. Now the question is what will he do afterwards?
Miller is still young at just 30. He has a decent record and just got his first loss in three fights and his only loss in the UFC. Most fighters might be in danger because of that, but Miller has enough of a name and enough good wins on his resume from outside the UFC that he should be fine.
But at 30, he was dominated by one of the top middleweights and though there is no shame in that, it does create a great question.
Where does he go from here?
Miller still has a few good years before his prime peaks. He is also skilled black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, though he does seem to lose to elite practitioners. He even has decent standup.
But if he is failing to even compete in a match with Bisping, it might take some soul-searching to plot his next move. Bisping might be surging ahead right now, but he has proven to be a little above the middle of the pack. He hasn’t proven that he can hang with the best.
And if Bisping can’t prove himself on an elite level, then it darkens Miller’s chances that he can. He probably isn’t going to be cut by the UFC anytime soon considering that he has had a show on MTV and that he seems to be popular with a contingent of MMA fans. Plus, the boost from being a coach on The Ultimate Fighter won’t hurt either.
Those will only keep him afloat in the UFC’s deep waters for so long. If he can’t prove that he can beat top competition, the UFC just might cut him.
It’s easy to argue that Miller is a good fighter.
He is.
He wouldn’t be with the UFC if he wasn’t.
But a contender?
His fight with Bisping seems to prove otherwise.
Maybe MMA’s clown prince will go back to the gym and find something that works. For his sake, he better as most have probably taken him off their radar.
And that could lead to him being taken off TV.
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