Who is Pat Miletich? All about 55-year-old UFC Hall of Famer set to face Mike Jackson in MMA grudge match

UFC Hall-of-Famer Pat Miletich is set to make a return to MMA at the age of 55. 'The Croatian Sensation' will take on octagon veteran Mike Jackson, 38, in a fight being billed as a clash of "skill, age and ideology".

The bout is scheduled to take place at 175 lbs under the Caged Aggression banner on October 24. It will be part of a two-night weekend event at RiverCenter in Davenport, Iowa. The owner of the promotion Mike Goodwin also told MMA Junkie that the fight has been fully sanctioned, although the Iowa Athletic Commission is yet to verify the same.

Miletich reigned supreme atop the UFC's welterweight division from 1998 to 2000 and last fought under the promotion in 2002. 'The Croatian Sensation' went on to have a highly successful coaching career, guiding UFC champs like Robbie Lawler, Matt Hughes, and Jens Pulver.

Meanwhile, Mike Jackson was released from the promotion earlier this year after going 1-2. He is best known for a fight against CM Punk which was overturned to a no-contest due to Jackson testing positive for marijuana.

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The beef between Pat Miletich and Mike Jackson

Pat Miletich cornered Mike Jackson for his clash against CM Punk in 2018. However, things have since turned sour between the two seemingly due to ideological differences. Miletich was a part of the January 6 2021 Capitol protest, which also led to his release from an analyst position at LFA.

Jackson subsequently lashed out at Miletich for supporting 'domestic terrorism' and the duo have been trading barbs ever since. 'The Truth' said in an earlier interview with MMA Junkie:

“I’ve got people like Pat Miletich, this f*cking Nazi piece of sh*t, he’s texting me talking about, ‘This old man will f*ck you up, blah, blah, blah.’ And he’s talking about boxing, kickboxing and MMA. I was like, ‘Pat Miletich, please, let’s kickbox, dude.’ ‘Cause I don’t want the motherf*cker to hold me and sh*t in MMA. I don’t want to deal with all that, even though I still [know] I could wash Miletich in MMA. I want to kickbox him so bad. It’s really because he’s just talking sh*t for no reason.”

Catch Jackson's comments below: