Miller Disappointed But Not Angry Over Strikeforce Bout Cancellation
Lutfi Sariahmed Nov 9, 2009
MMA's return to CBS without a certain bearded wonder could be
considered a success on many fronts. The nine-fight card featured a
successful debut of the top heavyweight in the world, crowned a new
middleweight champion in a five-round tussle and looks to have
produced a No. 1 contender to the Strikeforce women's 145-pound
belt.
There was only one problem: It was supposed to be a 10-fight card.
Mark
Miller and Deray Davis,
originally scheduled to be on before the Marloes
Coenen and Roxanne
Modafferi bout, went from the prelims to following the main
event to off the card all together. Miller was just as confused as
everyone else.
“I didn’t know really what was going on,” he told Sherdog.com. “I was still warming up and then they told us after the women went out there that they were going to try to sneak us in before the main card went out. Then after the women's bout was over, they said they were going to hold off and then we're going to fight after Fedor-Rogers and we were going to be the last fight after everything was done. So then after that, I was just kind of waiting around in the locker room and … Fedor-Rogers went off, so I warmed up again to get ready to go, and they called back and said that it was off.”
Strikeforce officials informed Sherdog.com that they needed about 20 minutes before the start of the televised show to swap cameras and prepare for the CBS show from a production standpoint. With the Coenen-Modafferi bout potentially determining who's next in line for a title shot, Miller and Davis were bumped.
“I was still in the locker room warming up,” Miller said. “I was wrapped up. I was hitting mitts and grappling. I was going to head out next and then they came and got the girls. They told me just to hold off and wait, but I was in the locker room wrapped up and ready.”
Despite preparing for a fight that didn't happen, the Chicago native was never really angry about not getting to fight close to home. He was paid his “show” money, an undisclosed amount, for the dropped bout.
“Of course I was disappointed,” Miller said of the cancellation. “A lot of hard work and time goes into preparing for a fight, but for me to get pissed off or scream and yell, it doesn't do anything. It doesn't change the fact that the fight wasn't going to happen. It was just a long day, so I just wanted to get out of there. I didn't want to sit around and dwell on it. I talked to Bob Cook and Scott Coker, and they apologized to me and they said they're going to give me another chance on a card to fight because of what happened.”
With a fight scheduled in Bahrain for Dec. 10, an appearance on the Dec. 19 Strikeforce card seems unlikely. But Miller did say he'd be available for a rumored January fight card for Strikeforce.
There was only one problem: It was supposed to be a 10-fight card.
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“I didn’t know really what was going on,” he told Sherdog.com. “I was still warming up and then they told us after the women went out there that they were going to try to sneak us in before the main card went out. Then after the women's bout was over, they said they were going to hold off and then we're going to fight after Fedor-Rogers and we were going to be the last fight after everything was done. So then after that, I was just kind of waiting around in the locker room and … Fedor-Rogers went off, so I warmed up again to get ready to go, and they called back and said that it was off.”
Strikeforce officials informed Sherdog.com that they needed about 20 minutes before the start of the televised show to swap cameras and prepare for the CBS show from a production standpoint. With the Coenen-Modafferi bout potentially determining who's next in line for a title shot, Miller and Davis were bumped.
“I was still in the locker room warming up,” Miller said. “I was wrapped up. I was hitting mitts and grappling. I was going to head out next and then they came and got the girls. They told me just to hold off and wait, but I was in the locker room wrapped up and ready.”
Despite preparing for a fight that didn't happen, the Chicago native was never really angry about not getting to fight close to home. He was paid his “show” money, an undisclosed amount, for the dropped bout.
“Of course I was disappointed,” Miller said of the cancellation. “A lot of hard work and time goes into preparing for a fight, but for me to get pissed off or scream and yell, it doesn't do anything. It doesn't change the fact that the fight wasn't going to happen. It was just a long day, so I just wanted to get out of there. I didn't want to sit around and dwell on it. I talked to Bob Cook and Scott Coker, and they apologized to me and they said they're going to give me another chance on a card to fight because of what happened.”
With a fight scheduled in Bahrain for Dec. 10, an appearance on the Dec. 19 Strikeforce card seems unlikely. But Miller did say he'd be available for a rumored January fight card for Strikeforce.
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