One of the most popular fighters in MMA today has resigned with the Ultimate Fighting Championship! The now former Strikeforce Middleweight contender Jason "Mayhem" Miller (24-7-0(1)) has signed a new multi-fight contract with the UFC after his contract with Strikeforce expired. This makes Mayhem the first Strikeforce fighter to transition to the UFC after its purchase by Zuffa, LLC. Mayhem has not fought since earning a Rnd1 Submission win over Japanese MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba at Dream 16 in September last year. Whatever fight that is booked next for Mayhem will be his second fight ever in the UFC since a Unanimous Decision loss to now reigning Welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre at UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell 2.
Mayhem's popularity in the world of MMA has grown after starting a show on MTV called Bully Beatdown where he helps victims of bullying get back at their bullies by pitting them against professional MMA fighters to teach them a lesson. Even though the show has received criticism from die hard MMA fans and analysts, the show has helped to promote the sport to the primary demographic of young males. The show has done more for Mayhem making him a common name all around as an energetic personality who is friendly to fans and the media. Since gaining all this promotion from the show, fans had been asking him why he was in Strikeforce and not in the UFC. Speculation that Mayhem could move to the UFC came as rumors spread that he had only one fight left on his Strikeforce/Dream contract, and it only grew even more after UFC President Dana White answered a question from a fan at a Q&A session. White was asked if he was interested in Miller, and answered that he was plenty interested in the standout fighter. After the purchase of Strikeforce by the UFC's parent company Zuffa, speculation over whether Mayhem would be brought into the UFC shot up as he had not been offered a fight from either Strikeforce or Dream. A grudge match with reigning Strikeforce 170lb champ Nick Diaz was talked about, but Diaz demanded too much money and demanded that Mayhem come down to his weight class. A rubber match with fellow contender Tim Kennedy was expected for the March 5 event, but was scratched with no reason as to why.
After the Strikeforce/Zuffa deal, many Strikeforce based fighters called out UFC fighters, and Mayhem was one of them as he called out trash-talkers in both Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping. Mayhem has also been campaigning to be chosen as one of two head coaches for the expected TUF 14 season specifically against Bisping. While Mayhem is not the only name campaigning for a coaching slot, a matching of two energetic personalities like Mayhem and Bisping could bring back rating for TUF as both are also young veterans of the sport. While many fans liked the US vs UK setting for TUF 8, this match up may not work the same angle as much as Henderson and Bisping did, though Miller has trained with Henderson and could bring him in as a guest. Other interesting bouts for Mayhem could involve Chris Leben, Demian Maia, Brian Stann, Alan Belcher, Yoshihiro Akiyama, and Jorge Santiago. A rubber match with Kennedy could also receive better promotion on the better stage in the UFC sometime down the road. Whatever match comes up, Mayhem will certainly receive main card status and will be recognized as facing some of the most elite talent in the sport.
A small side note, Mayhem could get the rematch he wants with Jake Shields sometime down the road as well with both of them again fighting in the same promotion.
UPDATED
Jason "Mayhem" Miller has now been scheduled to face Aaron "A-Train" Simpson (8-2-0) at UFC 132: Cruz vs Faber 2 on July 2 for their Independence Day weekend event. The main card is nearly full with official confirmation for Wanderlei Silva vs Chris Leben yet to be made on the event's page. Miller vs Simpson will most likely be televised as a free preliminary bout on SpikeTV seeing that it would promote him well freely on open telivision.
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