Joe Miles: Fighter, Electrical Engineer, Gentleman
By: Abel Carv“Train, then fight,” a mantra used by many coaches worldwide, especially in the MMA-world, “Gentleman” Joe Miles, a PhD Electrical Engineer, though he trains hard, had a contrary beginning to his MMA career. “I kind of fell into MMA unexpectedly. A friend took me to a local show in Seattle and I loved it. I wanted to go to another one so I went online to buy tickets. There was a link that said “Want to Fight?” I clicked it, filled out the info and got a fight. It was the best dumb decision I ever made. I immediately joined a real MMA gym the Monday after the fight and have been tenaciously training ever since,” commented Joe. Unbeknownst to him at the time, six years after the fight that got him into the sport, Joe will be competing for Legion Combat Sports Amateur 170 lb title on May 4th.
Claiming that he will fight as long as his body will let him, Joe is a very disciplined man, proven by his high-level of education in a very tough field. “Every morning I get up at 6:00 am and run 3 miles followed by some strength training. After work I go to Z’s and train for 2-3 hours,” embellished Joe when asked about his usual regimen. “I have worked with a lot of people in my years of training. Not too many big names. I trained with Mario Miranda at my first gym in Seattle. He went on to fight in the UFC for a while. I trained with an outstanding fighter named Ben Fodor who was an amazing athlete. He was a great training partner and a ferocious fighter, but he chose to use his talents in other ways (see Phoenix Jones). Those are really the only fighters I’ve worked with who anyone may have heard of. I have trained with countless excellent people throughout the years. I have an outstanding team at Z’s now and I am extremely excited about it,” Joe elaborated. Though he boasts a 10-5-0 MMA record including winning both a grappling match and MMA match on the same day, Joe Miles, a very likeable person and a real gentleman. Like his three favorite fighters, GSP, Franky Edgar, and Ronda Rousey, Joe is destined for greatness. If you would like to be a sponsor of The Gentleman Joe Miles, please contact him via e-mail at joe_a_miles@yahoo.com. KO QuestionsAre there any fighters/promoters that you would never work with again? Who? Why?
I prefer not to burn bridges. There are shady promoters out there, but they generally don’t last long. They’re too cheap to keep promoting. If you’ve got to cut corners to make it people can tell and you don’t last… What was your worst experience in the sport? My worst experience would be with a gym/coach in Laramie, Wyoming. It’s been a few years now and he’s long gone, but I won’t mention his name. Essentially, I ran his gym for him while he indulged in his drug habit. We had a lot of good, loyal members and pretty decent attendance, but eventually his drug problem got the best of him and he packed up and skipped town. He kept collecting dues from members through an automated billing company for months. I don’t know how much money he actually collected for how long, but I know a lot of people had problems getting out of paying. It was a bad situation and left me with a bad taste in my mouth. What advice would you give to those new in the industry? MMA is a tough road, no matter which way you go. Nothing comes easy and there is no magic technique that’s going to make you successful overnight. Instead you need to bust your ass day in and day out with quality coaches and training partners. Just watching UFC and wearing Tapout gear with your chest puffed out doesn’t cut it. What was the best win you’ve gotten? That’s tough. Maybe my first fight. That was an idiotic affair where I had no clue what I was doing, but I gutted it out and squeaked out the win. More important than the win, though, was the fact that the experience was so exhilarating and inspiring that I had to join a real gym. Alderwood Mixed Martial Arts. Best decision I ever made. What was the worst defeat in your career? Every defeat is tough. I hate to lose. I HATE it. I’ve lost 5 fights. I don’t think I can isolate any one loss as the worst. Every one was devastating after months of training and preparation. I try to take something away from each loss, but I despise their very existence. |
At a Glance:Name:
"Gentleman" Joe Miles Age: 32 Height: 5ft 10 inches Weight: 170lbs Fighting Out of: Fort Collins, CO Affiliation: Z’s Training Gym Record: 10-5-0 |