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There was once a time when Pat Miletich was one of the top fighters the UFC had on their roster.
He was the organization’s first Welterweight champion and defended the belt 4 times before losing it to Carlos Newton.
That was a very long time ago.
Miletich won that belt back in 1998. His last fight in the UFC came all the way back in 2002.
Miletich hasn’t even set foot in the cage since 2008 when he knocked out Thomas Denny.
It looks like that is about to change.
According to MMA Junkie’s Nolan King, Miletich is scheduled to fight Mike Jackson in a 3-round fight on October 14th for Caged Aggression MMA.
#UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich (55) will fight Mike Jackson (38) in Davenport, Iowa on Oct. 14 for the Caged Aggression MMA promotion.
Promoter Mike Goodwin tells me it will be a fully-sanctioned pro MMA bout. Three five-minute rounds. pic.twitter.com/w8RG4iYgNX
— Nolan King (@mma_kings) July 24, 2023
While fans would usually hate to see an MMA legend return at this age and risk serious harm to their physical well-being, there are reasons to believe that might not be a concern here.
The fact of the matter is, his opponent for this fight isn’t very good.
Mike Jackson has also competed in the UFC during his MMA career, but hasn’t been particularly impressive.
He was dropped and submitted by Mickey Gall in his first fight. Then he won a decision against CM Punk.
His next fight saw him win by DQ after his opponent dropped him and then he got finished by Pete Rodriguez in just 1:33.
In those 4 fights, Jackson hasn’t shown a ton of ability to do damage on the feet.
We have yet to see his takedown defense tested by anybody other than CM Punk and Miletich should have a pretty massive advantage on the mat if he can get the fight there.
Returning to MMA after 15 years out of the cage is definitely a surprising move for Pat Miletich, but he may have found himself a fight he can win for his comeback.