Pat Miletich to be inducted to the UFC Hall of Fame
The first ever UFC welterweight champion will now be a Hall of Famer as Pat Miletich is set to be honored and inducted in a ceremony set to be held in Las Vegas next Sunday during the International Fight Week festivities.
The initial announcement about the induction was made via the UFC Fan Expo website with the induction taking place Sunday at 11:30a PT on the main stage during the event being held at Mandalay Bay.
Miletich was a true hybrid as a mixed martial artist with a deadly combination of striking and submission skills, he would capture the first ever welterweight title by defeating Mikey Burnett at UFC 17.5 in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1998. This victory came after Miletich already won the UFC welterweight tournament held earlier that year where he defeated Townsend Saunders and Chris Brennan in the same night.
Miletich would go on to defend the welterweight title on four occasions, which stands as the third most in UFC history behind Georges St-Pierre and Matt Hughes.
In the midst of his own fight career, Miletich started to quietly build one of the best teams in the world and as he personally stopped competing, the gym he owned in Bettendorf, Iowa became one of the most iconic MMA havens in the entire sport.
With champions like Hughes, Jens Pulver and Tim Sylvia all learning under Miletich's tutelage, the team was a fearsome squad of the best fighters on the planet.
Over the years, Miletich eventually transitioned away from full time coaching and now works as a commentator for several MMA promotions all over the world as he's maintained his status as one of the greatest fighters, coaches and personalities of all time.
Miletich will join his long time student Hughes as the only welterweights currently inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
