Pat Miletich made his MMA debut in 1995 and reeled of fifteen straight victories, finishing all but one of them, mostly by submission. Making his UFC debut in 1998, Miletich won the UFC Lightweight Tournament at UFC 16 by defeating two men in one night. In his next bout with the promotion that same year, Miletich won the first-ever UFC Welterweight Championship, defeating Mike Burnett. He then went on to defend the title four times, defeating Shonie Carter and John Alessio during his run. As later chronicled in L. Jon Wertheim’s 2009 book “Blood in the Cage,” that time proved to be the high water mark of Miletich’s career, and he was rightly considered one of the best fighters in the world.

A combination of injuries, scheduling conflicts and difficulties with the UFC brass contributed to Miletich’s withdrawal from the MMA spotlight. After losing his title to Carlos Newton in 2001 via a vicious front choke, Miletich would retire from the sport temporarily.

Miletich returned to fighting via the short-lived MMA team league IFL, losing to Renzo Gracie by Guillotine.

In addition to his own successful MMA career, Miletich is also one of the most respected and well-known MMA trainers in the world. In the early 2000s his Bettendorf, Iowa based training facility, operating under the twin banners of Miletich Fighting Systems and MFS Elite for its professional fighters, grew into the top fight team in the world. Miletich honed such notable fighters as Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, Jens Pulver, Rich Franklin and Robbie Lawler as they rose to prominence in the MMA world. Miletich also provides live fight commentary for various shows including Strikeforce’s ShoXC series on Showtime. He is one of fighting's most knowledgeable minds.