Pat Miletich and Michael Nunn set to meet in Kickboxing match

Mandatory Credit: UFC

Inaugural UFC welterweight titleholder and promotion Hall of Fame inductee, Pat 'The Croatian Sensation' Miletich seems to have his first combat sports outing in almost twelve years set. According to long time manager, Monte Cox, Miletich is lining up a kickboxing bout against former WBA light heavyweight and IBF middleweight boxing champion, Michael 'Second To' Nunn.

Miletich, who rose to prominence during the late nineties and turn of the century, secured the UFC 16 welterweight tournament victory, and in 1998, defeated Mikey Burnett to become the promotion's first-ever 170-pound champion. The 52-year-old, who hasn't competed professionally since a regional appearance against Thomas Denny in 2008, is set to clash with Nunn, who was released from prison six months ago.

Nunn, 56, last competed in 2002, winning via a unanimous decision against Vinson Durham - extending his win streak to six bouts. The Iowa native dropped his IBF middleweight crown to the renowned James Toney back in 1991 in a penultimate round knockout. Before the loss, Nunn had defended the championship five times. In August 2002, Nunn was arrested after he paid an undercover agent $200 for a kilogram of cocaine - with a street value of $24,000. Nunn pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to 292 months in prison - of which he subsequently served sixteen and a half years.

Speaking with Bruce Buffer on the UFC announcer's podcast, IT'S TIME, Monte Cox revealed how plans had been in place for Miletich and Nunn to meet in April of this year until the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic scuppered the matching. Cox explained how the kickboxing affair is now targeted to take place after the pandemic.

"[There's] one big show I'm working on," Cox told Buffer. "You've probably heard rumours of this, but Pat Miletich is going to fight again. He's fighting Michael Nunn, a great boxer. It's an incredible (fight). This thing will draw. We could draw seven-thousand plus in the Quad Cities. They are the two greatest professional athletes or fighters out of that area."

"Michael (Nunn) has been in prison," Cox explained. "He just got out six months ago. It was cocaine thing. The feds set him up to buy a kilo of cocaine for one-hundred bucks. It's just ridiculous - it was entrapment at its best. But, anyway, what he did when he went to prison was, he took all the people who came in overweight and didn't know about nutrition. [He] taught them how to get back in shape - eat right, and put them through workouts and stuff. He really did good. He's a good guy. I know him really well. I travelled with him all over the world when he was fighting. At one time, he was pound-for-pound the best boxer in the world at 35-0. He was untouchable."

Nunn is a three-time Golden Gloves winner in his home state of Iowa, while Miletich is a black belt in Shuri-ryū Karate, and a third-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Miletich has spent some time in the commentary booth since his retirement, providing colour-commentary for the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion.