Tag: Chocolate Al

And There Was Much Rejoicing: Dan Miller’s Son Recovering Smoothly From Successful Kidney Transplant


(Photo courtesy of FundaFighter’s Facebook page.)

On June 22nd, 2012, Dan Miller returned to the octagon for the first time in nearly a year against Ricardo Funch at UFC on FX 4. Winless since 2010, it looked like Miller’s UFC future could possibly be hanging in the balance if he did not turn in a successful performance in front of his hometown crowd. But as is the typical attitude of the Miller family when approaching any fight, Dan left it all in the octagon, battering and blistering Funch en route to a third round guillotine choke win.

As it turns out, the victory was more than just a step in the right direction for Dan’s MMA career, it was an indication of where things were headed in his personal life as well.

As you all know, the reason for Miller’s prolonged absence from the octagon last year was that of his infant son, Danny Jr., who had been diagnosed with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, a condition that would require a $100,000 surgery and $10,000 a month in medication for at least the first year in order for Danny to stand any chance at recovery. The response from the MMA community was almost immediate, with everyone from the Firas Zahabi-founded FundaFighter program to former CP Sergeant-at-Arms Mike Russell establishing avenues for MMA fans around the world to contribute to Danny Jr.’s cause. Unsurprisingly, the most significant donations to the Daniel James Miller Foundation came from UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and president Dana White.

Well, Potato Nation, we are proud to report that not only was Danny Jr.’s surgery a success, but he is recovering smoothly as well, and has regained kidney function for the first time in over two years.

The Miller family’s reactions are after the jump.


(Photo courtesy of FundaFighter’s Facebook page.)

On June 22nd, 2012, Dan Miller returned to the octagon for the first time in nearly a year against Ricardo Funch at UFC on FX 4. Winless since 2010, it looked like Miller’s UFC future could possibly be hanging in the balance if he did not turn in a successful performance in front of his hometown crowd. But as is the typical attitude of the Miller family when approaching any fight, Dan left it all in the octagon, battering and blistering Funch en route to a third round guillotine choke win.

As it turns out, the victory was more than just a step in the right direction for Dan’s MMA career, it was an indication of where things were headed in his personal life as well.

As you all know, the reason for Miller’s prolonged absence from the octagon last year was that of his infant son, Danny Jr., who had been diagnosed with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, a condition that would require a $100,000 surgery and $10,000 a month in medication for at least the first year in order for Danny to stand any chance at recovery. The response from the MMA community was almost immediate, with everyone from the Firas Zahabi-founded FundaFighter program to former CP Sergeant-at-Arms Mike Russell establishing avenues for MMA fans around the world to contribute to Danny Jr.’s cause. Unsurprisingly, the most significant donations to the Daniel James Miller Foundation came from UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta and president Dana White.

Well, Potato Nation, we are proud to report that not only was Danny Jr.’s surgery a success, but he is recovering smoothly as well, and has regained kidney function for the first time in over two years.

Danny’s mother, Kristen Miller, broke the great news over her Facebook account:

In March of 2010, he lost all kidney function. Today, September 6, 2012, Danny is now peeing again! Words can’t describe the emotion that we are feeling right now.

He’s still in the OR (operating room) but will be headed to his PICU (pediatric intensive care unit) room shortly. His new kidney function will be monitored extremely closely.

Kristin was sure to thank Kathy Miller, who donated her kidney to Danny Jr. to make the entire operation possible:

Kathy is recovering in her room. We love you so much Kathy and can never thank you enough. Xoxo Daniel James..we love you so much!

The Miller brothers were more succint with their celebrations, sending out the following tweets:

Dan: Surgery went well today, never thought I’d be so happy to see some pee!

Jim: The word is that everything has gone well with my nephew’s transplant. Both Danny and my Aunt came out strong. TY everyone for the support. Pee! My 2 1/2 yr old nephew has kidney function for the first time in over 2 years. 1 hurdle cleared, many more ahead.

I haven’t seen such a celebration over urine since the time Olivia Wilde was attacked by a school of jellyfish in Jamaica.

Words can simply not express how elated we are here at CagePotato to hear this news, and wish the Miller family the best of luck in the future. But like Jim said, there are still many hurdles to clear for Danny Jr., so if you’re feeling particularly generous today, head over to Dan Miller’s FundaFighter page and make a donation. In the meantime, send a picture of you, your girlfriend/wife, or your smokin’ hot mom donning the Chocolate Al shirts you received to our Facebook page to show your support!

–J. Jones

Ask the Potato: MMA’s Best Refs, Brittney’s Playboy Spread, and “Chocolate Al”

(If you never saw the thread on Sherdog, do yourself a favor…)

It’s been an eventful week to say the least. Strikeforce Heavyweights are all but done, Overeem went before the NSAC, and Jon Jones choked Machida out cold. Too bad you didn’t ask us any questions about those things. That would have been cool. You did manage to pull some decent questions out of your asses, however, and we’ll take a few moments to address them now.

EnemyofReality asks: Dear, dear, Dear, DEAR Cage Potato. How I look forward to your wise words. Do tell me, what would your top 3 list of MMA refs look like?

It would like a lot like any other list, EnemyofReality, only it would have referee names instead of groceries, chores, and people to kill.

We actually covered this subject a couple of years ago, but times change and you’re asking now, so here we go. There are a lot of refs to choose from, but not necessarily a lot of great refs to choose from. If we were climbing into the cage—and we’re starting to warm up to the idea–we’d like to have Herb Dean, Big John McCarthy, or Josh Rosenthal in there to save our ass.

(If you never saw the thread on Sherdog, do yourself a favor…)

It’s been an eventful week to say the least. Strikeforce Heavyweights are all but done, Overeem went before the NSAC, and Jon Jones choked Machida out cold. Too bad you didn’t ask us any questions about those things. That would have been cool. You did manage to pull some decent questions out of your asses, however, and we’ll take a few moments to address them now.

EnemyofReality asks: Dear, dear, Dear, DEAR Cage Potato. How I look forward to your wise words. Do tell me, what would your top 3 list of MMA refs look like?

It would like a lot like any other list, EnemyofReality, only it would have referee names instead of groceries, chores, and people to kill.

We actually covered this subject a couple of years ago, but times change and you’re asking now, so here we go. There are a lot of refs to choose from, but not necessarily a lot of great refs to choose from. If we were climbing into the cage—and we’re starting to warm up to the idea–we’d like to have Herb Dean, Big John McCarthy, or Josh Rosenthal in there to save our ass.

 

Far too many people to list ask: Will you be running pictures from Brittney Palmer’s Playboy spread?

“Nothing to lose” seems to be the popular consensus from our readers. True, we’re still in the dog house with the UFC from the last incident, so from that perspective we wouldn’t be risking much. But we wouldn’t want to jeopardize our good relationship with CagePotato’s reigning “Hottest Women in MMA Grand Prix” champion. Not buying it? Well, we also gave our lawyers the next few months off to celebrate and recover from their hard fought victory, and you know what they say: never leave it in the hands of the judges. It shouldn’t really matter; you only read it for the articles anyway.

 

@nannerbs Brennan Valenzuela asks: Is it still possible to get the “Chocolate Al’ Shirt?

Nearly 500 people purchased CagePotato’s “Chocolate Al” shirts in the week following their launch. If you were lucky enough to snag one, we have good news: not only will you be sporting an uber-stylish, limited edition piece of MMA folklore on New Year’s Eve, you also helped save the life of Dan Miller’s son. If you missed the boat, you’ll have the rest of your life to regret it. Do yourself a favor and grab one of our exclusive “MMA Hairstyles” shirts while you still have a chance.

 

@matt_simpson84 Matt Simpson asks: Premature to say Big Nog is done, no? Was destroying Mir on feet. Got caught by BJJ black belt and nearly escaped.

Premature to say that Big Nog is done? Whaaaaaat?????????

Big Nog is thirty five years old, has a history of taking vicious beatings, underwent dual-hip surgery last year, and just got his shoulder destroyed by Frank Mir. Sure, he could take freak show fights in Japan or be used as a gatekeeper in the UFC when he returns from his injury. But do we really want to remember the PRIDE legend for an unspectacular run in the Octagon? He’s had a great career, and we’re fine letting it end with the tough as nails Brazilian refusing to tap.

 

That’s all for now, folks. Tune in next week as we answer even more of your (hopefully at least kind of) MMA related questions. You know the drill: You can send us questions through our Facebook page. You can tweet them to our Twitter account, as well as hashtag questions with #AskThePotato. You can register for our forums and post your questions there. Or you can just post them in the comments section of this article. And we still check that Google+ page we set up. Not that we want questions from that thing, we just feel like bragging.

Help Raise Money for Dan Miller’s Son’s Kidney Transplant and Get a Limited Edition ‘Chocolate Al’ Shirt in Return

By Mike Russell

If you recall, we posted a story last week about UFC middleweight Dan Miller’s son, Danny Jr. needing a kidney transplant which is going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 plus an additional $10,000 per month in medication for at least the first year.

With the help of a few kind individuals in the MMA community and with the permission of my daughter Abby who created the meme, we will be selling “Chocolate Al” shirts to help raise money for the cause for one week. If you don’t know who Al is, do yourself a favor and read this first.

After factoring in the cost of the shirts, which will be printed for free by Josh from www.TrueFightGear.com, and the price of shipping, we came up with a highly affordable price of $23 for the shirt with free shipping in Canada and the U.S. and an additional $2 per item shipped internationally.

From each shirt sold, we expect to make between $14 and $17 and we got word today that “Chocolate Al” himself, Chuck Liddell, has offered to sign a bunch of shirts that will be auctioned off to raise more for the Millers.

By Mike Russell

If you recall, we posted a story last week about UFC middleweight Dan Miller’s son, Danny Jr. needing a kidney transplant which is going to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $100,000 plus an additional $10,000 per month in medication for at least the first year.

With the help of a few kind individuals in the MMA community and with the permission of my daughter Abby who created the meme, we will be selling “Chocolate Al” shirts to help raise money for the cause for one week. If you don’t know who Al is, do yourself a favor and read this first.

After factoring in the cost of the shirts, which will be printed for free by Josh from www.TrueFightGear.com, and the price of shipping, we came up with a highly affordable price of $23 for the shirt with free shipping in Canada and the U.S. and an additional $2 per item shipped internationally.

From each shirt sold, we expect to make between $14 and $17 and we got word today that “Chocolate Al” himself, Chuck Liddell, has offered to sign a bunch of shirts that will be auctioned off to raise more for the Millers.

If you are a Dan Miller fan, a parent, or just a person who has a heart, buy a shirt and show the kind of spirit that sets the community involved in this sport apart from all the others.

Since they went on sale last night, over $1000 has been raised towards the cause.

To get ahold of your own limited edition shirt, visit http://chocolatealshirtsfordannymiller.bigcartel.com/.

FYI, we also have it on good authority that the UFC stepped up and made a substantial donation to the Daniel James Miller Foundation, but that’s no reason not to donate more to ensure that Danny gets the best care possible. I’d like to think that people would do the same for me if one of my kids needed the help.

Video: Ricco Rodriguez (Briefly) Fought Glover Texeira in Brazil Last Night

(Video courtesy of YouTube/CombateMMA)

Ricco Rodriguez fought last night in Brazil against Glover Texeira and unfortunately it was over in less time than it took for “Suave” to board the plane for his 10.5 hour flight to Duque de Caxias.


(Video courtesy of YouTube/CombateMMA)

Ricco Rodriguez fought last night in Brazil against Glover Texeira and unfortunately it was over in less time than it took for “Suave” to board the plane for his 10.5 hour flight to Duque de Caxias.

Ricco was doing well until he was tagged by a headkick by the dangerous light heavyweight who is rumored to be UFC-bound, then it was all downhill from there.

Texeira, who used to train at “The Pit” with John Hackleman and Chuck Liddell before visa issues left him unable to travel abroad from Brazil, has been on the UFC’s radar for a while. I spoke to UFC VP of business development Chuck Liddell last summer and he mentioned that Glover would likely be making waves in the Octagon within the year if all went well and it looks like he was only a few months off in his prediction.

And Now Your Wednesday Moment of Zen: Chuck Liddell’s New Nickname Courtesy of CagePotato’s Youngest Reader

I didn’t know if this little anecdote was worth posting here, but since there has been a decent response to it, I figured the story would bring a smile to at least few faces on an otherwise uneventful Wednesday.

Last summer my club did a seminar with Scott Epstein and Chuck Liddell. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond my control, I didn’t get an interview with Chuck for CP, but I did get a chance to chat with him for a while during a break in the seminar. Since he is the most recognizable face in the sport and has been since my kids started understanding what MMA and the UFC were, they’ve always known who he was and were excited to know that “The Iceman”  was making an appearance in our little town in Ontario, Canada.

Fast-forward almost a year and my (now) six-year-old daughter hands me her school journal to read yesterday and is quick to point out the unintentionally hilarious entry that details my meeting with Chuck.

Check it out after the jump.

I didn’t know if this little anecdote was worth posting here, but since there has been a decent response to it, I figured the story would bring a smile to at least few faces on an otherwise uneventful Wednesday.

Last summer my club did a seminar with Scott Epstein and Chuck Liddell. Unfortunately, for reasons beyond my control, I didn’t get an interview with Chuck for CP, but I did get a chance to chat with him for a while during a break in the seminar. Since he is the most recognizable face in the sport and has been since my kids started understanding what MMA and the UFC were, they’ve always known who he was and were excited to know that “The Iceman”  was making an appearance in our little town in Ontario, Canada.

Fast-forward almost a year and my (now) six-year-old daughter hands me her school journal to read yesterday and is quick to point out the unintentionally hilarious entry that details my meeting with Chuck.

Check it out below:


(Photo courtesy of Abby’s Grade 1 Journal)

RIP “The Iceman” and long live “Chocolate Al.”