Ben Henderson vs. Jim Miller at UFC Live 5. Photo by Zuffa LLC, via Getty Images.
MMA Fighting's Ariel Helwani spoke to Jim Miller in advance of tomorrow night's UFC on FX: Miller vs. Guillard and got Miller to open up about the kidney infection he was battling when he lost to Ben Henderson at UFC on Versus 5:
"It really hit me a couple hours after the fight," Miller said. "I woke up in the middle of the night and had this weird pain my lower back. It just wouldn't go away. It was something I never felt before and really hope to never feel again, to be perfectly honest. I got home, it was [expletive] traveling, bouncing on the plane and stuff like that was not comfortable. It was actually the first time that I lost weight after a fight because I didn't have an appetite or stuff like that. It was pretty miserable.
"I had a bad night. I knew something was wrong and I didn't adapt to the situation. He fought a great fight, and I just wasn't capable to keep up that night," Miller said.
"I really didn't know that I was sick. I knew something was wrong. I was pretty tired in camp and stuff like that, but when I was warming up for the fight, I knew something was off. I was getting winded just doing my warmup round, and then when we were starting to get ready to go out there, I just didn't feel like I had energy. And then stepping into the Octagon, I usually have tons of energy flowing around, bouncing around, and I just didn't feel it. I tried to fight like I normally fight, and I wasn't able to put him away with that style of fighting. I feel like I should have made the correction, fought a little more conservatively, worked for dominant position and then go for the attack and stuff like that instead of throwing everything I had at him."
Miller faces Melvin Guillard in the headliner of UFC on FX tomorrow night.
What do you think, is Miller making excuses for a loss or is he just telling us what went on with him?
0 recs | 76 comments
I don't see how anyone can have a problem with this
When it’s something he begrudgingly mentions five months after it occurred.
wonderfulspam - January 19, 2012
I don't get the impression Miller is the kind of guy looking to make excuses.
Even if Miller had of gone into that fight 100%,I still think Bendo would have steam-rolled him.
A win over Guillard and he’ll be right back to where he was before.
@KatanaClothing - January 19, 2012
Agreed.
It’s not like we’re talking about Tito here. Jim kept his mouth shut for half a year before revealing this. I’m rooting for him to choke Guillard out.
pud333 - January 19, 2012
I know
it honestly astonishes me how fans do NOT want fighters to be transparent and talk honestly about their experiences in the cage. I think its less a matter of not liking “excuse making” as it is fans don’t want their video game perspective on the UFC to be disturbed by any reality.
Kid Nate - January 19, 2012
I agree 100% with this. I really want to know everything that went wrong/well as a fan.
I think waiting several mounth is the correct way to do it because I can understand the excuse thing.
zzwab - January 19, 2012
I agree
discoandherpes - January 19, 2012
I also think that fans uphold a "no excuse" mentality for professional athletes...
….and they exercise it at every chance they get.
Luke Nelson - January 20, 2012
Training with blackhouse?
Afrotikiman - January 19, 2012 via mobile
beat me to it
Dave Strummer - January 19, 2012
Since it's pretty far out from the fight and he's not asking for a rematch I'm not bothered by this
He doesn’t seem like the type to make up shit but I can’t say for sure.
menckenstein - January 19, 2012
Exactly
And he’s not blaming it for his loss, either – he just says that he should have adjusted and didn’t.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
It doesn't change my opinion of who would win a rematch
but I on’t hold him coming out about it against him. Any kind of infection will drain you and make you feel “just off”, so it makes sense he felt that way. Bummer for him
troyd - January 19, 2012
I believe him
I also think Henderson wins the rematch.
I don’t see why MMA fans hate hearing about injuries so much
Shaun32887 - January 19, 2012
I dunno
It’s annoying when a fighter comes out right after a defeat and says he was unable to train/fight properly due to an injury. If you’re carrying an injury that hampers you from performing you either cancel your fight or suck it up, you don’t say “not to take anything away from < insert opponent >’s performance, but I would have beat him if I was healthy”.
wonderfulspam - January 19, 2012
yeah, this
even when they insert the standard “not to take anything away” caveat, it still has the effect of detracting from their opponent’s win.
It’s not a huge thing, but it does leave kind of a bad taste in my mouth.
…And I think Bendo beats him again. The Unchokable One is a tough matchup for a guy who likes to finish with chokes.
Dave Strummer - January 19, 2012
They don't say "I would have beat him"
but lets say Nick Diaz were to gas in the second round; there would be people with questions bothering him after the fight. If the reason he gassed was due to an injury that kept him training, what’s he going to do? Lie to his fans? Disclose the injury beforehand?
Shaun32887 - January 19, 2012
I thought that he looked off that night
He never recovered from the flying arm triangle attempt he made in the opening moments. I think if he didn’t do that in the opening frame, the fight could have turned out very differently, as Miller wasted a bunch of energy chasing that sub and then got the piss beat out of him once Benson got himself out of danger.
I’d like to see a rematch down the road. I don’t think the second fight goes the same way the first does… even if Benson pulls another W.
The Lethal Haze - January 19, 2012
Agreed
And he certainly did a good job of gassing himself. It might also be evidence of a crappy game plan. Who’s had any success trying to play the submission game with Ben Henderson? The guy’s freakishly hard to faze with a sub attempt.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
He was probably trying to end it quickly
Because he didn’t think he would have his usual gas tank.
discoandherpes - January 19, 2012
And he has admitted that his game plan sucked.
discoandherpes - January 19, 2012
A different gameplan from Miller
And its a much different fight IMO. Not saying Miller would win, but I don’t think he’d get DOMINATED like he did if he employed a more conservative strategy against Benson.
You could very well be right regarding the gas tank/gameplan issue though.
The Lethal Haze - January 19, 2012
Lest we forget that he dropped Bendo in the third round?
discoandherpes - January 19, 2012
yeah, that was forgotten by me
I still remember giving Bendo the third round though. And thinking the first was at the minimum a 10-8. Bendo has ridiculous recovery ability though.
The Lethal Haze - January 19, 2012
The first was close imo
the 2nd, Bendo owned.
the 3rd, Bendo completely smashed.
Grappo - January 19, 2012
Just rewatched that fight ten minutes ago
And Miller didn’t put on a bad performance at all, Bendo was just better in every phase – like a ground version of the Cerrone-Diaz fight.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
Cerrone was utterly smashed by Diaz
Its a major stretch to say either Cerrone’s or Miller’s weren’t bad performances.
The Lethal Haze - January 19, 2012
This is semantics, but...
Cerrone landed a hundred strikes in three rounds. Against anybody other than Diaz, that would have gotten him the nod. Miller had three tight submission attempts that probably would have tapped anyone in the division other than Bendo. A bad performance was Melvin against Lauzon, Brock against Overeem, or Fitch against Hendricks. Fighting hard against someone who’s better that night isn’t a bad performance.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
Don’t forget KZ/Hominick!
Shaun32887 - January 19, 2012
you're right, I guess it is semantics
But its a fight between two people. You can’t just say Cerrone had great offensive output without comparing it to Diaz’. And when you compare him to Diaz, he was absolutely smashed. Cerrone was hurt, gassed, and couldn’t land any meaningful offense by the end of the first round, let alound at the end of the fight. He never found his range.
Miller got smashed- three close sub attempts don’t mean much if they don’t damage your opponent. All those sub attempts did was suck out Miller’s energy, while putting him in horrendous positions on the ground that Benson exploited over and over. The sloppy sub attempts (flying arm triangle in the opening minute? seriously?) directly led to him gassing and getting the shit beat out of him.
…imo
The Lethal Haze - January 19, 2012
We're arguing about the definition of "bad performance"
And I just don’t understand how their performance in these two fights can qualify. I’m not disputing the fact that they both got smashed, that’s self-evident, what I’m saying is that getting smashed is not synonymous with putting on a bad performance when you run into someone who does what Diaz and Bendo did.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
except I don't think he did
he got punched in the armpit while throwing a kick, putting him off balance, and then he leaned back even further to avoid Miller’s right hand and fell down. I don’t think Miller’s 2nd punch landed.
Grappo - January 19, 2012
edit *leaned back to avoid Miller's left*
Grappo - January 19, 2012
It definitely looks like that second punch landed on the jaw.
Bolshevik - January 19, 2012
That's the first I've seen that knock down in slo-mo.
It really does look like Ben narrowly avoided that second punch to the chin. You can tell because Miller’s punch doesn’t seem to face any resistance when it goes past Ben’s face, maybe that’s why Ben was able to “recover” from it so quickly.
amendamatrix - January 19, 2012
it doesn't look definitely anything to me
but everything about it makes it seem like it didn’t. The was no recoil from impact, Ben wasn’t hurt in the slightest, and it was really quiet at that moment, so you could hear everything land. There was only one ‘smacking’ impact sound, and I think it was Miller’s punch hitting Bendo’s palm/wrist.
Grappo - January 19, 2012
Yeah I guess it grazes his face but doesn’t land.
Bolshevik - January 19, 2012
maybe this is a better version
gotta find an editing program that doesn’t blur on slo-mo though
Grappo - January 19, 2012
It looks like the punch grazed his chin a bit. His bangs seems to lift after Miller swings. Not a knockdown blow though.
dancingChicken - January 20, 2012
little bit of both I think. If we took every fighter at his word there hasn’t been a healthy fighter to loose an MMA match in years, but Miller seem less like the type to make excuses.
T.P. Grant - January 19, 2012
This
yea miller isn’t being tito but at the same time, i think hes trying to make his loss look a lil better than how it actually was.
he’s not saying “oh if i was healthy i could take him out in a second” he’s just saying "i wasn’t healthy and i couldn’t fight the way i fight. but in the end, he beat me fair and square.
DK_Monster - January 19, 2012
i think i lost my point
so to clarify my point, i also think its little bit of both.
DK_Monster - January 19, 2012
Lots of guys admit they were at their best in a losing effort
Two recent examples are Rampage after losing to Bones and Chad Mendes after losing to Aldo. It’s probably a lot more common than guys saying they had health issues. Tough to gauge though as only main events interview the loser post fight.
IWillPartyHard - January 19, 2012
This far out why even bother mentioning it unless he's using it as an excuse?
Robust23 - January 19, 2012
Our Bovine Public - January 19, 2012
I read that as, “That’s why it took some prodding to find out his excuse”
Robust23 - January 19, 2012
So you can't read?
Mandmeisterx - January 19, 2012
It's possible he had diverticulitis, that's my favorite excuse for why someone gets their face smashed
Robust23 - January 19, 2012
If he is anything like his brother, he's not looking to just make excuses
Also, he didn’t say it like the week of the fight or anything.
Like others have said, it took prodding to get him to mention it, it’s been 5 months, and he isn’t begging for a rematch OR saying he would have won if he was healthy.
Chris Groves - January 19, 2012
Underrated fight by the way. So full of awesome
Our Bovine Public - January 19, 2012
It's not like he had dengue fever or anything.
Ikuhisa Quinoa - January 19, 2012
Wow Jim....
Usually fighters release this bit of news a few days after a loss. I give you alot of credit of keeping this on the DL until now. Here I thought you were one of the few fighters who actually took a loss like a man without making excuses, but guess not huh. Yes, I understand it’s a kidney infection, but if you would had won the fight, you would of said nothing.
evenflow10 - January 19, 2012
How is it an excuse?
Someone asked him a question and he answered it. He wasn’t trying to blame his loss, he was just telling us what was up. Don’t be a little bitch about it.
discoandherpes - January 19, 2012
Yes.
This is more an explanation than an excuse. If Jim revealed this soon after the loss, yeah, it’s more of an excuse. But that fight was last August. At this point, it’s an explanation. He took his loss like a man.
pud333 - January 19, 2012
ts all how the reader/fan perceives it, I actually think he should of just stayed quiet about it. I think fighters sometimes like alot of athletes have to lesson the loss in there own mind and can not comprehend that they got beat at there best ? who knows though, I just think saying nothing is the best bet for athletes. Nothing good usally comes out of brining up injuries & medical problems after the fact. Be it a fighter after a loss or a starting pitcher who gets shelled in a playoff game.
Shocbomb - January 19, 2012
The news broke when somebody else leaked and only then did Miller ever even acknowledge that it was the case. The reason it’s widely known is because Melvin mentioned on Junkie radio that he heard Miller was sick, and Jim was on the next day so they asked him about it. What’s he supposed to do, say “no comment” when asked? If that happens it looks like he’s going all “I’m not going to say anything. Wink, wink, he only won because I was sick.” Instead, he’s said yes I was dealing with a kidney infection and mono that I discovered after the fight, no, that doesn’t excuse me because I feel it’s still my responsibility to adjust and win the fight. He has said time and time again when asked that it is 100-percent his fault for not fighting in a way that maximized his chances once he realized something was off. That’s not making an excuse, that’s answering an uncomfortable question in as respectful a way as possible.
JustBlogGuy - January 19, 2012
I'd have sympathy for Miller if he hadn't talked about the WEC guys
not being deserving of their place in the UFC and how the UFC guys were on another level.
deathbydegrees20 - January 19, 2012
I thought he said they were unproven (which was correct), not that they weren’t any good, but I may well be mistaken.
wonderfulspam - January 19, 2012
Yeah
It had to do with divisional rankings; the consensus at that point was that he was next in line for a title shot, and he didn’t feel that the WEC lightweights deserved the kinds of matchups they were getting. Whoops.
Patrick Wyman - January 19, 2012
Yep
so shut it Miller!
SentientAndroid - January 19, 2012
Henderson wasn’t gifted a title shot, he went and earned it, the exact thing Miller said the WEC lightweights should have to do. He didn’t say they should never get a shot, he said the winner of that fight shouldn’t get a direct title shot, and as it turns out, Pettis shouldn’t have gotten a direct title shot.
JustBlogGuy - January 19, 2012
Yeah, his quote was thrown way out of proportion. He made a comment saying “when the winner of Frankie and Gray beats the winner of the WEC fight,” which wasn’t an outrageous thing to say (I think it’s fair to say you can defend the stance Frankie would beat Pettis) and then when further questioned said there were some good guys, and there were also guys who are going to find it hard to last in a deeper division. That’s an absolutely true statement. Sensationalist reading of it turned it into “MILLER CALLS WEC FIGHTERS PILES OF SHIT”
JustBlogGuy - January 19, 2012
Thanks for the poll
I definitely think it’s an excuse and not crediting Ben with a well deserved win
AfroSamurai - January 19, 2012
Sounds like somebody just had a Whaaamburger and some French Cries
You show me a fighter who steps in to the cage without some sort of injury/malady and I’ll show you a fighter who hasn’t been training hard enough. Once you step in to that cage the adrenaline kicks in and illnesses/injuries tend to not play a factor.
Randomguy81 - January 19, 2012
They've got this ready every time Miller fights
Machiel Van - January 19, 2012
Seriously, Miller’s all right though :)
Machiel Van - January 19, 2012
uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Grappo - January 19, 2012
He had fucking mono and a kidney infection!
Who gets that shit?!
dajulzta - January 20, 2012 via Android app
I'd believe it.
He just didn’t look the same fighting Henderson. A shame too. He was one win away from a title shot.
kreally - January 19, 2012
ancient history is ancient
Hendo’s now fighting for title and Miller’s fighting for relevance.
Kid Kimura - January 19, 2012
Fighting for relavence?
He’s coming off of a 7 or 8 fight win streak with 1\a loss to the #1 contender. He’s main eventing the first FX card and will most likely be the next in line if not 1 more fight away. It’s responses like this that gives credence to “you’re only as good as your last fight.” 1 loss and a guy gets thrown under the bus, smh.
Genki Sudo's Choreographer - January 20, 2012
Bendo probably had something wrong with him too. Miller didn’t look like himself because he’s normally winning, but that night he was dominated by the type of fighter who’s dominated him before, a big, powerful, skilled wrestler.
Pantherhare - January 19, 2012
I hate it when fighters have excuses for every poor performance
But shit happens in life and it is entirely possible this is the truth. Does that mean Jim Miller could beat Ben on his best day? Not necessarily.
But let’s not start comparing him to Tito or some prominent brazilian excuse makers just yet.
Anton Chigurh - January 19, 2012
Excuses, eXcuses,xxcuses
Imo if ur really sick or injured you wouldn’t or shouldn’t be able allowed to fight. Its seems alot of fighters just make themselves believe that’s the reason they lost. Instead of sayn they got beat by a better fighter.
Hankverdee - January 19, 2012 via mobile
It ain't that simple, player.
For a lot of the guys in MMA, especially in the UFC where the purses are really decent, this pays the bills. And I hate to break it to you but they had to get the news out of him BY FORCE, almost half a year after the fact, to boot. I’ve passed a kidney stone a week after appendicitis, that shit hurt. Now imagine having one lodged in your damn yesterday for at least a few weeks, nauseates me thinking about it. Sprinkle some mono on top of that, drained the life out of my friend for a few months. Now throw a cage into the equation, along with one of the baddest motherfuckers at 155 JUST for good measure. That is the gravity of his situation. Henderson coulda beat Miller if he were well, but Miller’s balls alone were 155 at the weigh-ins go through with it. Respect
dajulzta - January 20, 2012 via Android app
WEAK
he got DUMPED by bendo and it fucked his back up.. End of fucking story…. He should have said
“I watched NO tape on Bendo… It was a DUMB ass move to jump to an arm triangle (on a guy who DOES NOT get subbed in a fight EVER!) and gas my self out early… then after i gassed he dumped me so bad so many times that he really fucked my kidneys up BAD!… I promise that i wont take Melvin lightly….”
A year and a half ago this guy was running his mouth about the wec guys and there skill set being lower than his (TALKING BIG SHIT) and this is what happens when ur mouth writes a check that ur ass can not cash… he coud do the “Dan” and keep his fucking mouth shut but insted he did the “Tito” because he didnt wanna wrap his head around the fact that bendo is better in every area and his sub game was USELESS on a guy that he deemed unworthy of a title shot..
Whos in japan fighting Edgar whale ur fighting the last guy to underestimate some one and get him self fucked up in the proses….
Jim Miller lost because he was disrespectful (and ben henderson SLAMMED the kidney infection in to him)
HolleAufRadern - January 20, 2012
Hey, did Jim Miller beat you up as a kid?
I’m just curious. I’m always blown away by responses like this. Calm down dude.
Genki Sudo's Choreographer - January 20, 2012
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