MMA Fight Rumors 2016: Jason Miller Unretires, Set to Face Luke Barnatt

By Jude Abastar, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, February 11, 2016

Jason "Mayhem" Miller left the mixed martial arts industry as one of the most popular and controversial fighters of all time, but several pundits thought his time wasn't really over. With the announcement from Venator Fighting Championship that they've recently signed the American TV host and former middleweight fighter, all those speculations came out to be true.

Miller started his career in mixed martial arts in 1998, compiling a record of 28-9-1 NC. Although he had a challenging time balancing his fighting career with several other endeavors, he was actually quite good at it, owning victories over highly respected fighters like Tim Kennedy, Robbie Lawler, Denis Kang, and Kazushi Sakuraba. He also fought several of the best in the sport, including Chael Sonnen, Michael Bisping, and Georges St-Pierre.

The announcement of his return will certainly send shockwaves in the industry, and at 35 years old and almost four years of inactivity, it is hard to imagine what sort of fight he has left in him. The last time he fought was in May 2012, losing to C.B. Dollaway via unanimous decision at UFC 146. Because he promised he would retire if he lost to Dollaway, the UFC decided to release him right after the fight.

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As a public figure, Miller has had several encounters and brush-ins with the police. The first incident was in 2012 when he was charged with vandalism. In 2014, he had a serious encounter with a SWAT team in his house, and the year after, he was arrested outside a bar after an altercation with police officers.

Although he no longer will be fighting for the UFC in his return, making a comeback in a highly competitive professional MMA promotion like Venator should be very interesting. He is scheduled to fight reigning middleweight champion Luke "Big Slow" Barnatt at the Venator FC III on May 21. The event will be held in Milan, Italy.