(Kirk Lazarus gave this performance five out of five crab apples.)
I have never met Jason Miller before. Like most of you, the only perception I have of “Mayhem” as a person has been constructed through interview snippets, heavily-edited reality shows, Twitter ramblings, and the occasional MMA fight. And while this criteria alone may be enough for me to declare my dislike for certain fighters, I have always found it difficult to assess just who exactly this Miller character is — especially in light of recent events — let alone render a verdict on the guy. Because that’s what Mayhem is: a character. And for people to believe that he is truly this completely bonkers, attention-starved individual at every waking moment seemed as ridiculous to me as believing that Chael Sonnen truly is the character he plays on TV. Yet in both instances, there is a strong majority of people who seem to feel this way.
What am I going on about? Well, it just so happens that Mayhem recently agreed to partake in a lengthy interview with Ariel Helwani, having finally shed the “Lucky Patrick” alter-alter-ego that saw him storm off Helwani’s show just a few weeks ago. In the interview that awaits you after the jump, Miller discusses everything from the Twitter war he and Dana White engaged in shortly after his firing to his bizarre arrest in a San Viejo church. And while I was happy to see that Miller appeared to be in sound mental shape for the time being, I couldn’t help but feel as if his explanation for those events was a little fishy.
If you’ve got the time, check out the video and let us know if you agree.
Look, I honestly want to believe what Miller is saying. I truly do. For some reason, I find him to be a smart yet misguided but overall likable guy once he sheds the “Mayhem” image. Hell, I’d rather listen to a million Lucky Patrick rants than have to hear even one more fighter spit out the same cliched, almost pre-determined interview answers that we are so used to hearing. And I am not going to call Miller a liar, but suffice it to say, I found some of his answers to the questions we have all been wondering to be just a bit…off. Perhaps appropriately so.
On his “Lucky Patrick” meltdown: “I’m always trying to learn and get better at whatever it is I’m trying to do. Like the acting thing. I got you with the whole Patrick thing because I really stayed in character, I had like a developed backstory, you know, these are methods that actors have used forever. And I just do the same thing I did in fighting to make myself successful. At 19, I got up in Tito Ortiz’s face and was like ‘Hey man, let’s wrestle’…because I wanted to get some of that magic off him.”
Now, I have not seen Here Comes the Boom because I have the ability to recognize a turd even before it has reached my small intestine, but according to Jim Genia’s review (and several others), Miller’s part in the film accounts for roughly five minutes of screen time and features none of the lush backstory that he is describing. As a film fanatic/student, I appreciate his effort to immerse himself as deeply as possible into his role, as minute as it may have been, but if he honestly expects me to believe that he had to go through what he did to accurately portray an MMA fighter with green hair, I call bullshit.
On his “kill yourself” tweet to Dana White: “When I said that, what I meant [was] kill the man that you are today, mentally. Kill him, become someone new. And that was what I was getting at. But it was also a joke.”
This one is a classic example of wanting to have your cake and eat it too. I could be wrong here, but I’m pretty sure that no one in the history of Twitter has ever even attempted to convey a message as pseudo-philosophical as this, let alone in the context of a joke. Twitter is a place we collectively gather to tell rape jokes, spew hatred and intolerance, and show a complete disregard for the fundamental principles of the English language. Basically, it’s the internet’s version of a Tea Party convention (BAZING!). And Miller wants us to believe that he was offering spiritual advice to a man who not only “never looked him in the eye,” but had just fired and publicly lambasted him days earlier? Child please. The only bit of advice I’ve ever offered an ex-employee or boss of mine was that they metaphorically copulate with themselves at the nearest convenience and I’m sure the same goes for most of you.
On his recent arrest: “Like I said, I live a very exciting life. That’s simply a misunderstanding, and really, it’s between me and my pastor. And that’s it. Brian Anderson, Mission Hills Church! Shout out to you! I’ll tell you what happened. I have performed under the moniker “Mayhem” for many years. And, most recently have got the title “Ultimate” slapped in front of my job. These combination of things makes any well meaning cop pull his pistol. Cause I look like a psycho. Understand? And I understand that. I just didn’t have time to clean up…I was waking up in the morning, I didn’t have time to say anything, I just had a pistol shoved in my face.”
Miller also stated that he wasn’t nude and was actually wearing a bathrobe, but none of that even begins to clarify what actually went down. Who is this pastor/coach Anderson fellow? Why was Miller wearing a bathrobe and sleeping in a church in the first place? Why would he vandalize a church he apparently attended on a regular basis? I guess The Case of the Nude Loon is just one that this gang will never be able to solve.
Again, I am in no place to call Miller out on his reasoning, and even if I did, I’m pretty sure Mayhem couldn’t really give two shits about what I have to say. So for now, I guess we should just be thankful that he is back to normal, whatever that is, and move on. That being said, it is interesting to finally see an interview with the guy where he isn’t bouncing off the walls or attempting a publicity stunt.
Miller also goes on to detail the knee injury he suffered in his match against CB Dolloway, as well as his future in MMA and Jacob Volkmann’s politics, for some reason. So check it out and let us know what you think.
