Former UFC featherweight Cole Miller says modern Mixed Martial Arts fans don’t understand the grind fighters go through to get to the cage.
The Ultimate Fighter 5 veteran Cole Miller has transitioned beautifully from fighter to coach after hanging up the gloves. Miller, who earned wins over the likes of Ross Pearson, Dan Lauzon and Leonard Garcia during his career, is viewed as a sponge for Mixed Martial Arts knowledge.
MMA, and more specifically the UFC, have changed immeasurably since Miller made his promotional debut in 2007. Especially in the current age of social media, fighters are under a microscope and often come under fire from casual MMA fans.
Add sportsbooks to the mix, and fighters usually hear both praise and scathing criticism from some fans online. Sometimes, fighters carry their personal life issues into the Octagon, with mixed results.
Fighters like Mackenzie Dern thrive through having extra angst in the Octagon, while some others crumble. Miller believes that’s an aspect of MMA that casual fans don’t consider.
Cole Miller on how personal battles away from the cage can impact a fighter’s performance
In a recent appearance on BetOnline‘s The Fight Guys podcast, Miller explained what casual MMA fans don’t understand about the mental and emotional battles fighters suffer through in camps.
“You factor any other personal stuff you have going into a [fight], too; that’s a thing that a lot of people don’t know,” Miller said.
“Sometimes guys go in there. You have the best camp of your life, no injuries, and because of that you’re overconfident and you zigged when you should’ve zagged. Could get knocked out in 10 seconds because you’re a little bit overzealous with your approach, instead of going all 15 minutes. A lot of times, people will write off the fact that you’re an actual person, as well, and we have our personal lives. You’re not just going in there as a finely-tuned machine with nothing else to think about; we’re people!
“I didn’t have a family up until, really, the last portion of my career,” Miller continued. “I had girlfriends intermittently, but whenever I was with the mother of my child, I had maybe eight fights left. I kept everything separate, and I’m not saying that was perfect for the relationship…but there’s nothing for us to argue about because I kept everything separate; I don’t do well with multitasking. If I have a singular focus, that’s how I thrive.”
Subscribe to BetOnline‘s The Fight Guys podcast here.
