Cole Miller is a veteran of the sport and understands that things outside of his control happen.
However, Miller believes recently things could have been handled much differently by the UFC after they cancelled an event set for the Philippines last month.
When BJ Penn was forced out of the planned main event for the card, the promotion decided to scrap plans completely. That left fighters like Miller without a bout – and without a paycheck.
“It’s crap,” Miller said in an interview with Sherdog. “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 to transfer my flight and go out of Atlanta instead of down in Fort Lauderdale, to make sure that I made my flight. 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 cancelled. 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, nine weeks away from my family, I think I profited $400-$500. And then instead of getting re-booked two weeks later, I get re-booked two months later. So, I have to come do another training camp to get paid for one. So that’s what it feels like. 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.”
Miller is now scheduled to meet Mizuto Hirota in December at UFC on FOX 22.
