DO YOUR CENSUS OR ELSE: Campaign to remind Nevadans begins today

Ross Miller wasn't breathing well.

His right hand was a little lower than where it should have been, and he just had been hit with some solid left hooks.

Like any politician, Miller has suffered his share of bumps and bruises along the campaign trail but nothing like the bop in the nose he suffered at the hands of Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White about a year ago.

Politicians fight for their constituents and their beliefs.

Ross Miller also fights as a hobby, and the bond he formed in the gym with White has led the two to team up on a campaign aimed at reminding young people to return their census forms.

Nevada's secretary of state, the No. 3-ranking political official, is a devoted practitioner of mixed martial arts.

''I've been in the sport for about three years, and it's probably my biggest passion,'' Miller said after a recent Thursday morning workout in the gym on the ground floor of UFC headquarters. ''If I didn't have a day job, I'd probably be doing this full time.''

The 33-year-old son of former Gov. Bob Miller said the many aspects of the sport, particularly the blending of the physical and mental side of the various disciplines, make

MMA an ideal diversion from politics.

''There's probably no greater sense of vitality than mixed martial arts training,'' he said. ''Anybody that's tried the sport knows that when you get to a point where you've made a mistake and somebody is trying to choke you out -- the second before is probably the most relaxed you feel and you tap out. Then you roll over and you want to know what you did wrong.

''I don't feel like that when I slice a golf shot.''

Miller, a former standout basketball player at Bishop Gorman High School, calls the sport ''probably the most challenging thing (he's) ever done.''

''I've looked at maybe taking an amateur bout, but I'm not there yet in terms of the skill,'' he said.

Miller regularly trains at Reno gym, but on days business brings him to Las Vegas, typically about once a week, he's able to make an early morning stop at the UFC facility.

That often means training with White, a former boxing and aerobics instructor.

It was on one of those days the two sparred, with Miller coming away from the session with a septal hematoma.

''After we finished, I wasn't breathing real well. I went to see the nose doctor and I had a blood clot in my nose that he had to drain out. Every once in awhile, you get a little minor injury.''

Miller and White have now teamed up for a project more attune to Miller's natural turf.

The UFC will be part of a campaign, which starts today, to remind Nevadans to fill out their 2010 Census form.

The marketing push is aimed primarily at young adults, a demographic that is less likely to participate in the census process, according to Miller.

''One of our biggest challenges is getting 18- to 30-year-olds to send in the form,'' Miller said. ''We think having somebody like Dana or (UFC fighters) Forrest Griffin or Frank Mir tell you to send the form in will have a dramatic impact.''

White will appear with the fighters in commercials and outdoor advertising. Census forms will be arriving in mailboxes within the next few weeks.

The state of Nevada gets nearly $1,000 per year, or roughly $10,000 over the length of the 10-year census period, for each completed form. Miller said an additional Congressional seat could be gained for Nevada if census returns match population estimates. Nevada currently has three Congressional seats.

"I never realized what (the census) meant to the state of Nevada," White said. "I was one of the average Joes who get the thing in the mail and I'm like, 'I'm not filling this thing out.' You don't know what it means to the state, especially in these hard economic times. To get more money into Nevada is a good thing for all of us."

White said the training sessions helped spur his organization's participation in the campaign. The UFC boss says he rarely gets involved in political issues, but wanted his organization to take part in this project because of the relationship he has developed with Miller in the gym.

Miller's not likely to suffer any wounds trying to convince people to fill out the census form, but the same can't be said of his activities in the gym.

Bruises and facial lacerations might bother some image-conscious politicians, but Miller just laughs it off.

"Every once in a while, I do get some kind of battle mark on my face that I have to explain to some people," he said. "But, I just love it."

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509.