Nevada politician wins first MMA fight, then retires

They're always talking about fights in the political arena and how candidates have a puncher's chance of winning. On Saturday night, it was nice to see one elected official actually put his fists where his mouth is— or more apt, where his opponent's jaw was.

Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller raised his right hand in victory after defeating Jamal Williams after a second round stop in his first amateur MMA fight, then promptly retired.  He walks away from mixed martial arts as an undefeated light heavyweight.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Miller won his MMA debut— one of 10 amateur fights held by the World Fighting Championships (WFC) at the Montbleu Theater in lake Tahoe, Nev.

"I'm one and done," said Miller.  "Competing in an MMA event was on my bucket list.  Now that I got it done I've got a day job and an important election coming up."

The Nevada pol had been training in front of cameras for his big night and even showed up in pubic with a black eye.

 The hard work paid off but it was almost wasted in the first round when a nervous Miller got caught in a choke hold against Williams— a former high school wrestler and boxer— and struggled to make it to the bell without tapping out.

In the second round, Miller came out full fury and backed his opponent into a corner with a body kick and a hard right hand.  The referee stopped the bout 30 seconds into the round.

Miller got the promoters to promise that his appearance would not be promoted to avoid turning the event into a media circus.

Miller's cornermen and a handful of fans were all wearing T-shirts that read: "My secretary of state can armbar your secretary of state."

Now Miller retires from the MMA octagon and heads back to the world of political infighting.  I'm betting none of his opponents will calling him out anytime soon.