Former UFC Champion Fights for Soil Health
What do elite athletes, gardeners, and small farmers have in common?
According to UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich, more than you might think.
Known to many as the first-ever UFC Welterweight Champion and the coach behind 12 MMA world champions, Pat has spent the last four decades researching a different kind of performance: the connection between soil health, nutrient density, and human health.
In this conversation, we explore why healthy soil may be the foundation of healthy food, why Pat believes biology beneath our feet deserves as much attention as nutrition on our plates, and how gardeners and homesteaders can begin rebuilding depleted soils. Along the way, we discuss regenerative agriculture, forever chemicals, compost, microbial life, and why meaningful change often starts in our own backyards.
Whether you're a farmer, gardener, or simply someone who cares about where your food comes from, this episode offers a fascinating perspective on the invisible systems that support all life.
In this episode we discuss:
- Pat's journey from UFC champion and coach to soil health educator
- The relationship between soil biology and human health
- Why nutrient density starts long before food reaches your plate
- Regenerative agriculture and where Pat believes it can go further
- Forever chemicals, glyphosate, and rebuilding depleted soils
- Compost, microbes, and the role of biology in healthy ecosystems
- Why Pat focuses on helping gardeners and homesteaders create change from the ground up
- What healthier soil could mean for healthier communities
About Pat Miletich
Pat Miletich is a UFC Hall of Famer, the first-ever UFC Welterweight Champion, and founder of Miletich Fighting Systems, where he coached 12 mixed martial arts world champions. Today he is the founder of Soil Saviors, an organization dedicated to helping gardeners, homesteaders, and land stewards restore soil health through education and biological approaches to growing nutrient-dense food.
Resources
Learn more about Soil Saviors: https://soilsaviors.org
One Bite is Everything
From your plate to the rest of the world, One Bite is Everything explores the connections between food, health, community, the environment, and the economy. Through conversations with farmers, chefs, researchers, advocates, and food system leaders, host Dana DiPrima examines how food touches every aspect of our lives and why understanding our food system has never mattered more.
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Connect
Follow Dana at @xoxofarmgirl and learn more about the For Farmers Movement at forfarmersmovement.com.
Co-production by Sonia Dhillon. Sound design and original music by Russell Chapa.