VICE's ‘Dark Side of the Cage’ dives into ‘Mayhem’ Miller’s long, troubled past

The second season of the acclaimed VICE Studios series "Dark Side of the Cage" premieres next week, and the opening episode is filled with mayhem – literally.

The season premiere goes inside the career of Jason Miller, whose "Mayhem" nicknamed proved to be prophetic when it came to not just his in-cage personality, but his outside-the-cage issues – which were plentiful for more than a decade.

The episode looks at the rise and eventual fall of Miller, who went from a youth struggling at home to a fighter who eventually became one of the first to cross over to the spotlight beyond MMA when he became the host of "Bully Beatdown" for three seasons on MTV.

Key look-backs in the episode include his training camp for Michael Bisping after they coached Season 14 of "The Ultimate Fighter" opposite each other – and his first arrest not long before the fight. On-hand to recall the incident are Miller's parents and sister – who was the one who called the police on him and leaked the story of his arrest to TMZ in 2012.

In addition, there are perhaps more details than ever before about his standoff with a SWAT team outside his house in 2014 – which he live tweeted throughout while he was barricaded inside his house. Officers were there to serve a warrant for arrest for domestic violence and stalking.

Although Miller has more than a dozen arrests, the episode steers clear of the majority of incidents that involved violence or legal offenses against women, other than the incident with his sister, which Miller plays off in the episode as old-school horseplay like they used to do as kids.

There is, of course, a redemption arc in the episode. A cleaned-up Miller talks in the episode about the journey from his decade-plus of negative headlines to a new version of "Mayhem" now – one who works at Xtreme Couture in a mentorship and coaching role and who is devoted step-dad.

The seven-episode season of the show premieres Sept. 1 at 9 p.m. ET on VICE TV.

Of particular interest to many later in the season will be an episode featuring longtime fighter Phil Baroni, who remains in prison in Mexico on a charge of murder. A teaser video for the season shows a clip of a phone interview with Baroni and him saying his lawyers won't be happy he did the interview. Plus, UFC Hall of Famer Don Frye, "whose willingness to absorb brutality in the cage led to the fight of his life against pain and addiction," is featured in an episode.

Other episodes will feature the marble-mouthed imbecile Tito Ortiz, Chael Sonnen and Mark Coleman. Additionally, the season "will shed new light on one of the most heated feuds in UFC history: Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov." The seven-episode season will close with a show about the rise and fall of the Affliction clothing brand, which launched a promotion to compete with the UFC, but found itself calling it quits after two events, and a third that was canceled.

Check out the season's official trailer above, and don't miss the premiere episode Tuesday.