Pat Miletich next UFC Hall of Fame inductee

According to the schedule for the upcoming UFC Fan Expo, the first UFC welterweight champion Pat Miletich will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame next Sunday, July 6, at 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT local time).

Pat Miletich, 48, created the blueprint for what it takes to reach the greatest heights of mixed martial arts. There are three fundamental skill sets in MMA – striking, wrestling, and submissions. In order to be a champion, you have to have skills adequate to hang with national class players in striking, in wrestling, and in submission grappling. The first person to achieve that level of ability in MMA was Miletich, and it stands, to this day, as the standard that every champion must reach. Every champion now follows Pat’s lead, and always will.

The fighter/trainer/commentator, has been practically synonymous with the sport since beginning his career, that began with a 15-fight win streak, starting in October of 1995. Pat suffered his first loss due to a doctor’s stoppage in a bout with Matt Hume. By the time he made his UFC debut at UFC 16, he had a record of 17-1-1. Pat won the UFC 16 Welterweight tourney facing Chris Brennan for a third time and defeating him for the second before winning the UFC Welterweight championship in a split decision over Mikey Burnett. He went on to defend his championship four times, before losing it to Carlos Newton.

Miletich was asked before a seemingly impossible fight vs. the massive Dan “The Beast” Severn how he hoped to win. Pat’s answer rings true to the day, and always will.

“You don’t know what is going to happen in MMA,” Miletich said. “That is why you have the fight.“

The ability to train others in mixed martial arts requires a nearly totally different skillset than does fighting, as evidenced by the records of many of the sports top trainers. ATT founder Ricard Liborio had one MMA fight, a draw. Trevor Lally was a modest 2-0. Shawn Tompkins was 0-4. Mark DellaGrotte, Greg Nelson, Colin Oyama never had a fight. Pat Miletic was a world champion, and he was if anything even better as a trainer, and he was among the very best ever as a fighter.

As the founder of Miletich Fighting Systems, Pat helped train Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, and Robbie Lawler among countless other fighters and Law Enforcement Officers/Military. Within a two year stretch from 11 January 2001 to 28 February 2003, Miletich fighters held four of the five UFC championships, a record that is likely never to equaled in the sport.

Pat closed out his career with a KO over Thomas Denny at IFL 11 in December of 2008. He went on to debut as a color commentator for Strikeforce on Showtime in 2009. He also acts as a commentator for AXS fights and as a correspondent for ESPN’S MMA Live.

Pat Miletich is and remains one of a handful of the most important figures in our sport’s history.

Miletich will join Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Randy Couture, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Charles Mask Lewis Jr., Matt Hughes, Tito Ortiz, Forrest Griffin, and Stephen Bonnar.