Issue 101
May 2013
His skills in the Octagon are unquestionable, but ATT product Cole Miller’s achievements in the world of video gaming are simply on another level. FO’s Ben Cartlidge caught up with him to find out more.
Where did it all start for you with video games, Cole?
“Some of my earliest memories of gaming involve my brother, Micah (also a pro fighter), and playing with him. We
used to play Nintendo together starting with the first one and it just carried on from there. We were both gamers from the get-go.”
The NES is a great place for any would-be gamers to start; where did you go from there then?
“Well I personally have had in my home at one point or another, Atari, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, N64, Sega Dreamcast, Xbox 360 and PS3. I was always a console guy looking back at it. Micah loves all games as well but he’s really more into PC gaming.”
Sounds like quite the gaming pedigree; is it your friends as well as your family who play video games?
“Yves Edwards, Blake Bowman and Brad Pickett are all friends and teammates who play as well. There’s a lot of gamers up at American Top Team. If you look at attonlinegym.com it’s obvious what an online community we all are.”
So who’s the best then?
“That’s a tough one but I’d probably have to say Micah. I haven’t really played with Yves or Brad too much but my brother will play anything which makes him versatile.
“I think the thing with me is that I don’t follow a pattern with the kind of things I play. I have, like, one or two games per genre I’ll regularly play, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Black Ops, and Rainbow Six. Goldeneye is still sick as well.
“I also play Darksiders, Super Mario, Zelda and I could get into God of War and Assassin’s Creed I bet as well! I’ll always enjoy Street Fighter, Soul Calibur and Smash Brothers also.”
That’s quite the exhaustive list. Out of all those characters in those games, which is your favorite and which do you think you’re like?
“Link is my favorite video game character. There was always mysteriousness about him. You also play him in so many different ages which is unique, so you can kind of grow with him. He stands for great ideals and leaves so many questions unanswered; only furthering my curiosity to keep gaming with him.
“Myself, I feel probably like Ryu from Street Fighter, especially after seeing more of his personality in the animated movie.”
Quick-fire
- Sega or Nintendo? “Nintendo.”
- PS3 or XBox? “Both!”
- Fighting games or sports games? “Fighting games.”
- Three games on a desert island? “Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64, and Legend of Zelda, Skyward Sword.”
Back to the future: Video game history of MMA – Three’s a crowd
What could be crazier than a fight between two killers? Quite simply a fight between three.
Not too long ago, a video of welterweight Kyle Baker speedily dispatching two fighters at once for the Sando promotion went viral and the mixed martial arts community was both horrified and curious in equal parts.
It needn’t have worried, however, because the international karate organization had pioneered this format decades earlier.
IK+ pitted three karate fighters against each other with the sole intention of being the first to get six points and gain promotion on the long road to black belt. Fighters were awarded one point for smaller techniques and two for more show-stopping maneuvers but with little distinction on target areas. This inevitably resulted in most matches comprised of all combatants blindsiding each other with their flashiest jumping, spinning techniques.
IK+ was dangerous but entertaining, a mantra which sums up the world of three-way fighting in a nutshell.
Now, which one of you guys just punched me in the spine?
Lauzon’s best bits
Geek and UFC 155lb contender Joe Lauzon shares morsels from his life in video games
Lauzon on the NES
“Everything about the NES was perfect for the time. Those square controllers really had an ‘80s futuristic look to them like the console did. So many of the games stood the test of time and are still playable today which says a
lot for just how great that
machine was.”
Separated at birth: Cung Le and Liu Kang
There’s arguably no finer combination kicker in MMA than Cung Le, but Mortal Kombat’s Liu Kang could easily give the iron-fisted middleweight a run for his money. There’s not much to choose between the two apart from the fact that Cung Le has never turned into a dragon and devoured his opponent alive... yet!
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