Mark Jason Miller (born September 17, 1971) is an American

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

who competes in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

division.

Biography and career

Early life

Miller grew up in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and became involved with

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...

through his love of

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

and

Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...

films. His father sent him to a

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...

gym at a young age, and he also practiced

Tang Soo Do Tang Soo Do (Hangul: 당수도, Hanja: 唐手道 ) refers to a Korean martial art based on Karate and may include fighting principles from subak (as described in the Kwon Bup Chong Do), as well as northern Chinese martial arts. Before the Ni ...

Hapkido Hapkido ( , , also spelled ''hap ki do'' or ''hapki-do''; from Korean 합기도 ''hapgido'' ) is a hybrid Korean martial art. It is a form of self-defense that employs joint locks, grappling, throwing techniques, kicks, punches, and other stri ...

, Uechi-ryu and

Taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...

as a child. He began competing in

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is a variant of boxing practiced at the collegiate level, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as many associations. Amateur boxing bouts are short in duration, comprising three rounds of three ...

at the age of 18. He later began

Muay Thai Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...

and trained and fought in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

Career

Mark Miller made his debut in the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

promotion in August 2000 at ''

K-1 USA Championships 2000 This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

'', where he lost to Tommy Glanville via unanimous decision. He re-matched with Glanville in May the following year at ''

K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Preliminary USA This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Korakuen Hall, Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events ...

'', and avenged his loss with a split decision victory. In February 2002, he took part in the Grand Prix at '' K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary North America'' and lost to Canada's Giuseppe DeNatale in the first round. This was to be his last bout in K-1. In 2006, Miller was set to compete in a bout for the S-1

promotion in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. However, he failed the Florida Athletic Commission's medical test due to a heart condition. According to the specialists, Miller was having a fifteen percent cardiac output along with an enlarged heart. In 2007, he had heart surgery due to the condition. He made his return to the ring on May 28, 2011 at '' United Glory 14: 2010-2011 World Series Finals'' in

Moscow, Russia Moscow ( , American English, US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia. The city stands on t ...

against Nikolaj Falin. Miller knocked Falin out with a right hook nine seconds into the first round. Following this match, Miller joined the famous

Golden Glory Golden Glory was a Muay Thai, kickboxing and mixed martial arts camp and management team, based in the Netherlands. Description Golden Glory was founded in 1999 by Bas Boon, and Frederico Lapenda. Golden Glory's professional MMA and kickboxin ...

gym in the Netherlands. He faced Koichi Pettas at '' Glory 2: Brussels'' on October 6, 2012 in Brussels, Belgium and lost via KO in the second round.

Kickboxing record

, - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-10-06 , , Loss , , align=left, Koichi Pettas , , Glory 2: Brussels , ,

Brussels, Belgium Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, , KO (Right Cross) , , 2 , , , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2012-03-23 , , Loss , , align=left,

Sergei Kharitonov Sergei Valerievich Kharitonov (russian: Серге́й Вале́рьевич Харито́нов, Sergéj Valér'jevich Kharitónov, ; born August 18, 1980) is a Russian professional heavyweight mixed martial artist and former kick ...

, , United Glory 15 , ,

, , KO (Right Hook) , , 1 , , 1:59 , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2011-05-28 , , Win , , align=left, Nikolaj Falin , , United Glory 14: 2010-2011 World Series Finals , ,

, , KO (right hook) , , 1 , , 0:09 , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2002-02-09 , , Loss , , align=left, Giuseppe DeNatale , , K-1 World Grand Prix 2002 Preliminary North America, Quarter Finals , ,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, , TKO , , 2 , , 2:07 , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2001-08-11 , , Loss , , align=left,

Dewey Cooper Dewey Cooper (born November 10, 1974) is an American former kickboxer and boxer who competed in the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. After becoming a two-time world champion in 2000 by taking the WKC heavyweight and WKF cruiserweight ti ...

, ,

K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 in Las Vegas This is a list of events held and scheduled by the K-1, a kickboxing promotion based in Hong Kong. The first event, K-1 Sanctuary I, took place on March 30, 1993 at Kōrakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. 2023 events 2022 events 2021 events ...

, ,

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area is ...

, , TKO , , 2 , , , - bgcolor="#CCFFCC" , 2001-05-05 , , Win , , align=left, Tommy Glanville , ,

, ,

, , Decision (split) , , 5 , , 3:00 , - bgcolor="#FFBBBB" , 2000-08-05 , , Loss , , align=left, Tommy Glanville , ,

, ,

, , Decision (unanimous) , , 3 , , 3:00 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

Personal life

Miller's

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

''Pain Don't Hurt: Fighting Inside and Outside the Ring'' was published in 2014 by Ecco Press, an imprint of

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

curated by chef and author

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

. The book, co-written with Miller's longtime corner woman Shelby Jones, tells of his origins in a troubled family, heart surgery, struggles with addiction, and his kickboxing career.

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

described the book as "thoughtful but unsentimental" and "a force to be reckoned with".

References

External links

Fighters Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Mark 1971 births Living people American male kickboxers Kickboxers from Pennsylvania Heavyweight kickboxers American Muay Thai practitioners Sportspeople from Pittsburgh