Devin Miller has given much of his life over to mixed martial arts but his drive to compete and win has origins outside the ring with his brother. (Photo credit: Mike Jackson, LFA)
Moments before his fight, MMA fighter Devin Miller works to get into character. The calculated aggression and concentration building, as he prepared to put his undefeated record on the line.
The 21-year-old has given much of his life to mixed martial arts, but his drive to compete and win has origins outside the ring.
“Growing up with a brother that got bullied a lot, it does something to you,” Miller said. “I protect my brother, that’s what I do.”
As long as Devin can remember, his brother Dillin has motivated him. Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at a young age, Dillin, like many with autism, struggles with the social contact easily taken for granted.
“He wouldn’t come out of his room if we didn’t make him,” Alesha Miller, their mother, said.
But recently Devin has discovered the mixed martial arts that have given his life purpose are also capable of helping his brother. This year, he started an MMA class with Dillin and has found the human contact that never seems to come easy for his brother, suddenly gets a little bit easier out on the mat.
“Most special needs parents feel like they are alone and it just lets you know you’re not alone,” Kirk Baker, a parent of two kids in Devin’s class, said.
Devin’s class on Sunday’s at the “Fitness Fight Factory” in North Richland Hills has since grown and now has about 10 kids, all with some degree of autism spectrum disorder.
“Making friends and stuff like that, he (Dillin) doesn’t get to do that too often. This is one day out of the week that he gets to hang out with friends,” Devin Miller said.
The class, parents said, gives their kids a chance to be social and get used to human contact. Devin offers instruction on technique that centers less on the aggression often associated with MMA and more on basic human contact.
“Give me a big hug, yeah, like that,” Devin said, instructing a young student.
His mother said the two brothers have always been close and the class is an unsurprising, natural progression of their relationship.
“It’s fun watching them together, it’s the highlight of my week,” Alesha Miller said.
And when Devin fights, as he did in August in Dallas, he carries the purpose he gets outside the ring with him. He would lose the fight by split decision but unlike some fighters whose sense of purpose is decided almost entirely by scorecards, Miller’s is not. His love for his brother and the other kids like him buffers any disappointment, giving his life a grounding that is perhaps unique.
“It’s pretty surprising, having a fighter doing stuff like this,” Devin said. “I hope I have 100 kids in class, in here having fun, that’s the end goal.”
