Miller Back on the Sidelines with Broken Hand

Cole Miller suffered a broken hand at UFC Live 5. | Photo: Dave Mandel

“I just did this. I had a knee injury earlier this year and I wasn’t able to train for nine weeks,” Miller said during a “Savage Dog Show” interview on the Sherdog Radio Network. “I wanted to be able to get a good win like I did and come out unscathed and hopefully get another fight before the end of the year. … But everything’s just going to have to be put on hold. It’s kind of depressing.”

Miller hadn’t fought since January. Now it looks like he’ll only fight twice in 2011.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” he said. “I’m definitely happy that I won the fight. This whole situation would be a lot worse if I had a broken hand and [was] coming off a loss, but I’m not the same usual self that I am after a nice victory. The injury’s definitely making me a little bit depressed.”

Miller submitted O’Brien with a nifty guillotine choke 2:38 into the second round. The submission is particularly impressive when you consider that he broke his hand roughly four minutes into the opening period.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time. You’re going to see all these guys getting broken hands and not because we’re wearing 4-ounce gloves but because all these guys either don’t know how to strike or they’re throwing looping overhands,” Miller said. “That’s a great way to set up takedowns and things like that, but when you’re throwing looping punches and hooking punches, you’re going to be more likely to break something.”

Due to O’Brien’s reach, Miller said he had to throw more overhands and hooks. O’Brien ducked into one of Miller’s right hooks, and the punch hit him on the top of the head, breaking Miller’s hand. Still, Miller found a way to win.

“In the second round I definitely felt the pressure,” he said. “I knew my hand was broke. I felt that sense of urgency that I needed to get the job done.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 38:42).