Pat Miletich To Receive Special Award From National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Former UFC champion, world famous MMA trainer and current on air Strikeforce analyst Pat Miletich is to receive a special award as part of the George Tragos / Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame branch of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

The George Tragos Award is given to an exceptionally competitive wrestler who has adapted his wrestling skills and competitive nature to excel in Mixed Martial Arts. Pat Miletich will be the very first recipient of this award.

The Wrestling Museum writes:

Pat Miletich is one of the most successful Mixed Martial Artists and trainers in the world. He is the founder of Miletich Fighting Systems-based out of Davenport, Iowa-which trains some of the most successful fighters in MMA.

As a competitor Miletich compiled a 29-7-2 Mixed Martial Arts record from 1995 through 2008, becoming the first Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight champion at UFC 16 in 1998. He is also a color commentator for Strikeforce which airs on CBS/Showtime. Miletich began wrestling at the age of five and wrestled for Bettendorf High School.

Also part of the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2011 will be a living inductee in Dory Funk Jr, a Posthumous inductee in Gorilla Monsoon.

Other awards given out will include:

The Frank Gotch Award to Jim Duggan - for bringing positive recognition to professional wrestling through work outside the ring such as working with a variety of charities including the Children's Home Society for underprivileged children, Shiners International, Make-A-Wish, and the Special Olympics. For the past eight years he has participated in the Variety Kids Telethon.

The Lou Thesz Award to Jim Ross - for taking the skills of professional wrestling into the realm of public service such as Support Our Troops initiative, Circle of Champions, and Get R.E.A.L. (Respect, Education, Achievement, Leadership). He has also been involved with Meetings with Children with Life Threatening Illnesses.

The Jim Melby Award to Scott Teal - for excellence in professional wrestling journalism spanning a career of more than 40 years and has been involved in the publication of more than 100 books on the subject of professional wrestling. In 2003, he published his first autobiography, "Inside Out," with Ole Anderson. Since then, he has published 10 other books, including autobiographies with several high profile wrestlers. Teal is currently working on books with Stan Hansen, Bill De Mott, Van Vader, and editing books on Nikita Koloff (with Bill Murdock) and Ed "Strangler" Lewis (by Steve Yohe). Scott Teal is also the owner of Crowbar Press and is the webmaster of 1wrestlinglegends.com

The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame weekend will take place on July 22-23, 2011, in Waterloo, Iowa. The weekend includes a celebrity golf tournament, a professional wrestling show, wrestling seminars, a wrestling round table discussion, an autograph signing, and an induction banquet.

For additional information contact the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum at (319) 233-0745 or e-mail info@wrestlingmuseum.org.