HONOLULU, Dec. 9 — ICON Sport held a press conference today featuring Robbie Lawler (Pictures) and Jason Miller, marking the beginning of the marketing and advertising campaign to promote the February 18, 2006 ICON Sport card. Lawler will defend the 185-pound ICON Sport championship belt against fan favorite “Mayhem” in the main event.
The mood was light and casual, as is almost always the case here on the islands. Even though Miller and Lawler traded some words during the press conference, they seemed very respectful of one another afterwards.
The presser was scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. Friday, and while Lawler was on time and patiently waiting, “Mayhem” showed up a good 45 minutes late. ICON Sport promoters T. Jay Thompson and Patrick Freitas sprouted a few gray hairs as they waited helplessly for the charismatic and flamboyant fighter to arrive.
“Mayhem” finally stormed in around 2:45 and the press conference got underway quickly after that. Thompson apologized for the late start but Miller quickly interrupted and made it clear that he was not sorry. Miller explained that he was on “Hawaiian time” and that he was indeed, not late at all.
He went on to explain that the waves on the North Shore were too tempting to pass up and that he decided to catch a few more. “Man you pull me off the damn waves out on the North Shore just to shove a bunch of stupid cameras in my face,” a defiant Miller said. “I’d rather be on the beach right now, surfing … how about that?”
When asked for his thoughts on the fight, Miller responded, “I’m a force at [185]. This kid’s got some hand grenades and it’s gonna be a real fun show. So that’s what we’re gonna do on February 18th.” The challenger also said he was going to pass on getting involved in a “battle of wits” with the champion because he said it was “unfair in this case.”
Thompson also asked about an infamous Internet post authored by Miller where he supposedly claimed that he would win the fight against Lawler via rear-naked choke. The online-forum post also suggested that for increased dramatic effect, Lawler might want to consider going to sleep instead of tapping out. “It looks much more heroic if they wake you up off the mat, then if you just tapout,” Milled explained. “I’m not saying in particular that he will get choked unconscious, but it looks more heroic so please don’t tap.”
Miller was then asked about his training, to which he sarcastically responded that he was lifting a lot of weights because Lawler was strong, so he wanted to be strong as well. To prepare for Lawler, “Mayhem” said he would be studying a lot of Robbie Lawler (Pictures) tapes, listening to a lot of “System of a Down” on his headphones, do a 1,000 sit-ups, and jump rope.
Miller went on to acknowledge the legions of “Mayhem Monkeys” out there in the world, referencing their ability to survive in “independent cells.”
Before today’s press conference, Lawler had reportedly been away in Mexico participating in the filming of a movie, but mentioned how happy he was to be back in Hawaii and how motivated he was to be in the fight environment.
When the champion was asked if he thought he could survive on the ground, he acknowledged Miller as being a good fighter, but that he (Lawler) trains with the best in the world, and that he was going to leave it at that.
Lawler was asked if he thought cardio was going to be a factor since Miller has reportedly stated in the past — and shown — that he “likes to drag his opponents into deep water and then watch them drown.” The challenger jumped into the fray and interrupted, almost insultingly, that of course Lawler was going to train hard for the fight because Lawler isn’t stupid or crazy, and Lawler knows that if he doesn’t train hard he’s going to be in trouble. “If this guy doesn’t train hard, he’s bananas,” Miller claimed. “And he ain’t that stupid. Good Lord!”
Thompson also asked Lawler the poignant question: “Can ‘Mayhem’ be knocked out?” to which Lawler confidently replied, “We’ll find out.” Lawler went on to discuss how he feels like he has more punching power now that he’s come up in weight. He declined, however, to give away any information on his specific strategy for February’s clash.