How to Face Fear with Pat MiletichHow to Face Fear with Pat Miletich
Addict II Athlete Podcast
UFC champion Pat Miletich talks with Coach Blu about childhood trauma, fear, pain and addiction, linking his experiences in fighting and ultrarunning to recovery. Their conversation highlights how facing discomfort head-on can reshape a life, both inside and outside the ring.
1:00:49•26 Apr 2021
How UFC Legend Pat Miletich Learnt to Face Fear, Pain and Addiction
Episode Overview
- Pain can become a training ground rather than a reason to quit, whether in the cage, on the trail, or in early sobriety.
- Alcohol and other substances may be symptoms of deeper fear, anxiety and unresolved trauma rather than the core problem.
- Choosing not to walk away when things get unbearable often marks the turning point, in both sport and recovery.
- Shared hardship—fighting, ultrarunning, or getting clean—creates a powerful sense of connection and support.
- Standing up to family addiction with honesty and love can spark lasting change, even when the initial fallout is intense.
“Alcohol is just a symptom.”
What drives someone to seek a life where fear stops calling the shots? This conversation between Coach Blu Robinson and former UFC champion Pat “The Croatian Sensation” Miletich leans straight into that question, mixing cage fights, ultramarathons and addiction recovery into one raw, honest chat. Pat shares how a childhood filled with an alcoholic, abusive father and the trauma of two brothers dying by suicide shaped his tolerance for pain.
As he puts it, that upbringing gave him “the ability to not feel pain or to get through pain,” a skill that later had him fighting in Japan with a broken leg and stepping into the cage when he “literally” couldn’t use one arm. But he’s clear that pain isn’t the real enemy. Pat talks openly about drinking to deal with crippling anxiety, calling alcohol “just a symptom” of deeper fear and confusion.
He recounts learning he had massive inflammation, multiple forms of arthritis and gut issues that were wrecking his brain and body, all while trying to train for races like Leadville and doing brutal 50‑mile training runs in heat that left his urine “looking like coffee for three days.” Alongside the war stories, there’s a powerful thread of family and redemption.
One standout moment is him confronting his mum’s hidden vodka bottles, telling her, “I want [my kids] to meet their grandmother,” and watching her go from near death in withdrawal to decades of sobriety and working at a centre for alcohol and drug services.
Pat contrasts the controlled violence of MMA with the mental battle of ultrarunning, where “your opponent is yourself.” That same mindset runs through recovery: you can walk out when it gets hard, or drop the metaphorical bag and stay in the fight. If fear and pain have been running your life, how long are you going to let them call the game?
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