What if the last day you have on earth, the person you became met the person you could have become?
It’s a heavy question, but if you are honest with yourself, it’s an excellent barometer to gauge how fulfilling and productive your life was, or could’ve been. One of the saddest things in life is seeing wasted talent, or worse yet, watching someone self-destruct right before your eyes.
This scenario seems to play itself out time and time again in sports and is an equal opportunity destroyer of lives. Take John Daly, Darryl Strawberry, and Ryan Leaf for instance. All three of these athletes wasted their careers away to varying degrees and never came close to reaching their perceived ceiling. Unfortunately, mixed martial arts (MMA) is no different when it comes to athletes wasting their careers away.
This year, the sport celebrated its silver anniversary. In that time the growing number of fighters who have squandered otherwise promising careers is staggering. We here at LowkickMMA compiled a list of the 10 fighters who wasted their careers away.
The list starts here, enjoy:
Jon Jones
We start the list off with none other than decorated-yet-troubled former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon “Bones” Jones.
Jones is still in the process of writing his story, but if history has shown us anything, it’s that athletes that continually mess up usually continue to self-destruct unless a comprehensive lifestyle intervention takes place.
“Bones” makes this list because he is perhaps the best and most recent example of an MMA fighter wasting their potential away. Once considered the unquestioned greatest of all time, Jones is, unfortunately, more likely the butt of a joke than in the running for the GOAT conversation nowadays.
Jones won the UFC light heavyweight championship on two occasions; he would also become the first fighter in company history to be stripped of the same title both times.
Couple that with “Bones” well-documented controversies that include a hit-and-run involving a pregnant woman, multiple failed drug tests, and a seemingly never-ending stream of generally head-scratching outside-the-cage trouble, and it’s no wonder Jones makes the list of fighters that wasted their careers.
Former mixed martial arts star Jason “Mayhem” Miller pleaded guilty in a domestic violence case, TMZ Sports reported Tuesday.
According to the report, authorities charged Miller with five felony counts of domestic violence and a felony count of v…
Former mixed martial arts star Jason “Mayhem” Miller pleaded guilty in a domestic violence case, TMZ Sports reported Tuesday.
According to the report, authorities charged Miller with five felony counts of domestic violence and a felony count of vandalism. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw him plead guilty to “corporal injury to a spouse/cohabitant,” and he received a three-year probation and a four-year suspended sentence in state prison.
Miller was 23-10 over an MMA career that included stints in UFC, Strikeforce and World Extreme Cagefighting. He also hosted the MTV showBully Beatdownthat ran from 2009 until 2012.
A jury in Orange County, California, previously acquitted Millerof felony domestic violence stemming from a 2013 incident in which prosecutors alleged he had struck his ex-girlfriend.
TMZ Sports reported his guilty plea Tuesday was connected to allegations he was violent with three different girlfriends between 2015 and 2017. He also allegedly damaged the cell phones of two girlfriends so they’d be unable to call the police, for which he was facing misdemeanor charges.
Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller is now a free man after going through some rough years as he has picked up a long list of charges due to various incidents with law enforcement. He was able to put one of those behind him as he recently acquitted on felony domestic violence charges earlier this year, but nearly
Jason ‘Mayhem’ Miller is now a free man after going through some rough years as he has picked up a long list of charges due to various incidents with law enforcement. He was able to put one of those behind him as he recently acquitted on felony domestic violence charges earlier this year, but nearly another dozen charges remained.
According to an article in the Orange County Register,Mayhem made a smart choice and reached a plea deal to plead guilty on a litany of charges including assaulting a police officer, battery, and resisting arrest. He was sentenced to 100 days in jail and will have to serve three years of probation, but as given double credit for the 50 days he had already served, so he was free to go.
Miller’s lawyer spoke with the media and gave a comment about the case.
“The good news for Jason is that his life is back on track. He’s got his business back, and he’s traveling the world as a commentator.”
Mayhem himself also admitted to his own stupidity:
“I take responsibility for my stupidity,” he said. “You can’t rough up the police with no consequences. I’ll serve my time with my head held high,” he said. “I’ll straighten up and fly right.”
Miller (28-10, 1 NC) tried to return to MMA after not fighting for four years in 2016, but he showed up for his fight overweight. 24 pounds overweight to be exact to fight in Italy. Although he fought at the event, he was quickly submitted.
It seems Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s luck has finally taken a turn for the better. The ex-UFC fighter (and Ultimate Fighter coach, opposite Michael Bisping) has been found not guilty of all charges stemming from a domestic violence incident back in 2013. The acquittal was handed down in an Orange County courtroom Wednesday, according to a […]
It seems Jason “Mayhem” Miller’s luck has finally taken a turn for the better. The ex-UFC fighter (and Ultimate Fighter coach, opposite Michael Bisping) has been found not guilty of all charges stemming from a domestic violence incident back in 2013. The acquittal was handed down in an Orange County courtroom Wednesday, according to a […]
Former UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was in some legal heat after he allegedly beat up his ex-girlfriend, which led to a domestic violence case being opened and later being charged with felony domestic violence charges. On Wednesday, an Orange County jury acquitted Miller of two felony counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and
Former UFC fighter Jason “Mayhem” Miller was in some legal heat after he allegedly beat up his ex-girlfriend, which led to a domestic violence case being opened and later being charged with felony domestic violence charges.
On Wednesday, an Orange County jury acquitted Miller of two felony counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and a misdemeanor charge of violating a protection order.
The trial was intense, to say the least with Miller acknowledging he got into multiple physical altercations with his ex-girlfriend, Anna Stabile, who is an MMA fighter and that he had been training with. Miller testified in court that Stabile tried to hit him with a choke that he taught her while they were training but she could execute the move because, in his words, her legwork was sloppy.
Miller also claimed that he had kinky sex life involving threesomes, golden showers, choking and more with Stabile.
Long story short, he argued that he was the real victim who was simply stuck defending himself from a trained fighter with a violent streak, which the jury bought and acquitted him. Lucky for him, the charges were dropped as he was facing more than 5 years in prison if convicted.
(“So then the officer grabbed me like this and demanded to know which orifice I was hiding the bath salts in and…what were we talking about again?”)
Following a couple high profile, highly-criticizedsignings and the most epic press release of all time (not that we had anything invested in it), Italian promotion Venator FC held its third event over the weekend. It was a night of surprises, to say the least, with perhaps the most surprising thing being that the event didn’t end up being the absolute shitshow that it seemed primed to be.
In the main event of the evening, UFC veteran and contemptible asshole Rousimar Palhares was obliterated inside of a minute by heavy underdog Emil Meek. In a light heavyweight matchup, TUF 3 alum Matt Hamill faced off with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and met a similarly brief/violent end, and even Cody McKenzie managed to secure his first victory in over two years via his signature guillotine.
But atop the shitshow mountain stood Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who was plucked from a 4 year absence (the majority of which he spent in the back seat of a squad car) to face fellow UFC vet Luke Barnatt in a middleweight title fight. Mayhem’s return seemed doomed from the beginning when he showed up to the scales a whopping 24 pounds overweight, but after being pulled from the fight and rebooked at light heavyweight against Mattia Schiavolin, the stage was finally set for what would surely be a disastrous performance.
Shockingly, however, Miller not only looked halfway decent in the cage, but appears as if he might actually be on the path to redemption.
(“So then the officer grabbed me like this and demanded to know which orifice I was hiding the bath salts in and…what were we talking about again?”)
Following a couple high profile, highly-criticizedsignings and the most epic press release of all time (not that we had anything invested in it), Italian promotion Venator FC held its third event over the weekend. It was a night of surprises, to say the least, with perhaps the most surprising thing being that the event didn’t end up being the absolute shitshow that it seemed primed to be.
In the main event of the evening, UFC veteran and contemptible asshole Rousimar Palhares was obliterated inside of a minute by heavy underdog Emil Meek. In a light heavyweight matchup, TUF 3 alum Matt Hamill faced off with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and met a similarly brief/violent end, and even Cody McKenzie managed to secure his first victory in over two years via his signature guillotine.
But atop the shitshow mountain stood Jason “Mayhem” Miller, who was plucked from a 4 year absence (the majority of which he spent in the back seat of a squad car) to face fellow UFC vet Luke Barnatt in a middleweight title fight. Mayhem’s return seemed doomed from the beginning when he showed up to the scales a whopping 24 pounds overweight, but after being pulled from the fight and rebooked at light heavyweight against Mattia Schiavolin, the stage was finally set for what would surely be a disastrous performance.
Shockingly, however, Miller not only looked halfway decent in the cage, but appears as if he might actually be on the path to redemption.
Video after the jump.
Though Miller would ultimately succumb to a rear-naked choke midway through the second round, he had clearly taken the first round and appeared to be in control in the second until his cardio got the best of him. All things considered, it was a hell of a performance for the formerly prolific fighter, and one that Miller himself sees as, hopefully, the start of something new.
Speaking with MMANews.pl following the fight, Miller showed hints of the thoughtful, charismatic and above all else, coherent man we came to know before he began his downward spiral.
“If you don’t learn from an experience, that’s ’cause you haven’t thought about it long enough,” said Miller. “Look, it’s only been about an hour and I already thought a lot about this. I have an idea of where to start to change my whole life.”
While it’s still too early to tell whether or not Miller will fall back on old habits once he’s reentered the states, it’s hard not to feel genuine remorse for the guy. Not for what he’s done, mind you, but for what he could have been outside of the cage. Jason Miller is not the kind of guy whose career necessarily had to begin and end with fighting — his stint as the host of Bully Beatdown proved as much — but if it took getting his ass-kicked by someone who *wasn’t* a police officer to make him see the light, we sincerely hope that he can stay on the straight and narrow long enough to take back some of the things he’s lost. He may never be a UFC champion, sure, but there’s still promise there.
Anyways, that’s just a fellow lunatic’s thoughts on the matter. You can check out Miller’s fight against Schiavolin below.
