HOME UFC BOXING WEC MULTIMEDIA

_________________________________________________________________________________________
COMMENT PRINT EMAIL SHARE

Pat Miletich's Gym Closing Down

MMA's once legendary Miletich Fighting Systems Gym in
Bettendorf, Iowa shutting its doors after internal conflicts,
financial difficulties and employee exodus
By Bob Nelson (Contact)
December 8, 2008 | midnight

LAS VEGAS, NV (AP)- Four separate news reporters have

now confirmed that the once legendary Miletich Fighting
Systems (MFS) Gym and Martial Arts Training Center, of
Bettendorf, Iowa, is now up for sale. In addition, we
have received confirmation from numerous "friends" of
Pat Miletich that this information is accurate. The most
recent reports indicate that an investor group headed by
MMA Mega-Agent, Monte Cox, had initially expressed
interest in buying the troubled MFS Operations.
However, after recently visiting the Gym and witnessing
the extremely low turnout of members, the investors
pulled their interests in purchasing the company.

This development closely follows yet another setback in

the continuing MFS decline over the last 2 years. Pro
MMA Fighters Jens Pulver and Spencer Fisher were among the latest Camp
Members to leave MFS, following a virtual endless parade of departures, including
most notably MMA superstars Matt Hughes, Robbie Lawler, and Jeremy Horn.
Pulver and Fisher were recently quoted in interviews, saying that they were not
learning anything at MFS.

It's hard to imagine how MFS could have arrived in such dire straits in such a
short amount of time. It was just a few years ago that MFS had 3 of the 5 weight
class MMA World Champions in the gym at the same time. Of all the past celebrity
fighters once training there, the only one left is the nearly retired Tim Sylvia. The
"lack of learning" referenced by Pulver and Fisher does not seem to be enough to
explain how this camp went from a 30-40 member class size during a prime time
weeknight training session, to the current numbers of less than 10 members
turning out for class, in just 2 years.
On a seemingly separate but obviously related news story, Pat Miletich is
resuming his fighting career at age 42, by taking on Thomas Denny on the Dec.
11, 2008 Adrenaline 2 Fight Promotions Card. Why would a man at his age, with
serious Cervical Vertebrae damage, and with less than 3 minutes of Cage Time
over the last 7 years, submit himself to the risks of this intense sport ..... let
alone, put his wife and 2 kids in a situation where they could potentially be facing
a disabled husband and father. Separate investigative reports have now
confirmed that Pat Miletich is severely delinquent on his house payments and is
facing foreclosure on his new home which is less than 2 years old. With his gym
business all but gone, with his new home about to be lost, with his once
generous International Fight League salary and equity gone, with the loss of 75%
of his MFS Affiliate Schools and related revenue, Pat Miletich is a man in a
desperate situation. At his age with no work experience outside of fighting, and
with no formal education significantly related to corporate America's needs, he
would be hard pressed to find decent employment outside the Cage. To make
matters worse, Pat Miletich in the last year has reportedly lost over $150,000 on
legal fees and related litigation costs on a lawsuit where his attorneys either failed
to do their front end due diligence research, or simply decided to take Miletich to
the cleaners. It is upon his dire financial foundation, unofficially, that Adrenaline
Fight Promotions Chief, Monte Cox, has agreed to bail out Pat Miletich from
foreclosure on his new home in exchange for him fighting for the Adrenaline Fight
Promotion. The question for the fans attending this show will be is Pat Miletich
really going to fight and be able to put up a fight worth paying to see, or, is he
just going to show up to get his paycheck?

With regard to the question we posed earlier in this report, in trying to explain
the causes of this rapid crash and burning of the once respected MFS Camp, we
believe there has to be lot more involved than just "lack of learning" in the gym.
Just a few years ago nearly a day went by without the MFS Camp being
referenced in a major MMA news story. Now, we rarely see any news stories
about MFS, and the ones we see are mostly related to the fighters that have left
MFS.

Posted in Mixed-martial-arts on December 8, 2008 Midnight Updated: 3:18 am.