Cole Miller dispirited by UFC event cancellation aftermath

UFC featherweight Cole Miller spoke recently with Sherdog.com about the cancellation of UFC Fight Night 97 which had been scheduled for October 15, 2016, in Pasay City, Philippines. ‘Magrinho’ said he ended up with a check for less than one-third of his show money and had to wait two months to fight again. And this was after a long camp away from family. He’s not impressed.

It’s crap, said Miller, as transcribed by Zane Simon or BE. I come in here, I did a full training camp – nine weeks – was away from my family, and then was on the way to the airport… That’s when the hurricanes were going on down here, so I called ahead, myself, to transfer my flight and go out of Atlanta instead of down here in Fort Lauderdale, to make sure that I made my flight, that I wouldn’t miss my fight. Drove all night, got into Georgia at, like four in the morning. Woke up at eight in the morning, was on the way to the airport when I got a text saying that the whole event was canceled. I was like, ‘Aw, that sucks.’

Then, I got less than a third of my show money. So, I came out of the training camp, I think… Nine weeks away from my family, I think I profited $4-500. So, that worked out pretty good for me, you know. And then instead of getting re-booked two weeks later, I get re-booked two months later. So, I have to come do another, second training camp, to get paid for one. So that’s what it feels like. I’m here… I don’t even want to be here right now. It doesn’t make me want to fight harder for my family, it makes me want to fight less. It makes me want to quit, go get a job at Starbucks or something.

“This is the last fight on my contract. So, to renegotiate a new contract, there’s a lot of work that’s gotta be done. You know what!? I don’t even really think they want me fighting for them, just by the way I feel like I’ve been treated. It’s like, that’s not how you take care of your people. They’ll probably let me go even if I win, which… whatever.”

I asked to go in… I requested a meeting not that long ago, to go in and meet [the new owners] in person and I was denied. They wouldn’t even see me. Like I said, that’s just the icing on top of it.

Miller is just 32, and has been fighting in the UFC for close to a decade. He’s not a malcontent with a perpetual axe to grind. To the contrary, he is an intelligent, ferociously dedicated and hard working, good and positive human being. He felt heading into UFN 97 that he had 10-12 more fights left. So this represents a profound change.

Cole Miller fights Mizuto Hirota at UFC on FOX 22 on December 17, 2016 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.