Video: Mayhem Miller is a scapegoat with a Hello Kitty mouthguard, issues apology

The fallout from Saturday’s Strikeforce post-fight brawl continues. The Tennessee Athletic Commission is investigating and UFC president Dana White has taken aim at CBS for airing a “bush league” event by a “C level promotion.”

No surprise in either case, especially the latter as White rarely misses an opportunity to take a shot at the competition, especially if it takes the heat off of him for the string of under-performing UFC cards of late. (Although in this case I have to agree with him – Saturday’s Strikeforce did look second- or third-tier, particularly once the post-fight fight broke out.)

Meanwhile, Cesar Gracie has a few things to say to all the “pussies” and “crybabies” who are making too big of a deal out of the whole thing – and not paying attention to the great job his fighters did at the event. Gracie is the coach for Strikeforce middleweight champ Jake Shields and lightweight champ Gilbert Melendez, who each defended their titles on Saturday. They, along with Gracie teammates Nick and Nate Diaz, were at the heart of the impromptu fisticuffs (and the instigators, in my book).

“So a fight broke out at a fight. That’s not a good thing, and I’m not condoning it … but a lot of people are jumping on this because they’re babies … They want to talk about a fight at an MMA fight between MMA fighters,” Gracie told MMA Junkie. As for whether the incident would give MMA a black eye, he says, “How would it be damaging? If you’re a sports fan, you’re used to seeing fights all the time. It’s really, seriously, a bunch of pussies latching on to this and trying to make it a bigger deal than it is. Is it a good thing? It’s not a good thing. We’re sorry. Everybody involved has apologized.”

Speaking of apologies, the man who (sort of) started it all, Jason “Mayhem” Miller has issued an apology to CBS, Strikeforce and the fans for his role in the donnybrook: “In retrospect, my timing could not have been worse to ask for my rematch with Jake, and I take full responsibility for entering the cage and setting off a chain of events that cast a dark shadow on the sport … In the excitement of the moment, I let my emotions run high and made a bad choice that resulted in a debacle. For that, I sincerely apologize.”

Consider it accepted, if you ask me. I’ve made it clear that Miller’s only mistake – his only error in judgment – was going into the cage and surprising Shields during his post-fight interview, something that fighters routinely do (although it’s usually done with the promotion’s blessing). He didn’t start the fight, and by the end was just a punching bag (literally and figuratively).

And while I have called Miller a douche in the past, I have to admit I’m warming up to him. Check out this interview with Miller done just after he won his undercard fight and long before he blindsided Shields. It’s clear he’s a good-natured goofball who likes the limelight. There’s no malevolence in him. He’s a joker with a Hello Kitty mouthguard, fer chrissake. Strangely, you can see Nick Diaz drilling holes in the back of Miller’s head from over his right shoulder as the camera rolls.