Old man strength wasn’t enough to carry UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich, 57, through three rounds with Mike Jackson at Caged Aggression 36.

Jackson, 38, spent the majority of two rounds underneath Miletich, who put his liberal foe on the canvas early with a right hand off a naked led kick. But when Miletich couldn’t answer the bell for the third round, “The Truth” was ruled the winner via TKO at the 5:00 mark of the second in the Saturday night show’s main event.

Miletich fought before a hometown crowd in Davenport, Iowa, where he turned Miletich Fighting Systems into a household MMA name. Cornering him was longtime teammate and fellow UFC Hall of Famer Jens Pulver. That energy propelled “The Croatian Sensation” early as he held Jackson in side mount, raining down elbows. Jackson was almost powerless to escape as his corner, longtime MMA journalist and coach Elias Cepeda, shouted instructions.

Miletich charged headlong for a takedown in the second and quickly advanced to quarter mount, where he looked for a finish that might bring an end to the grudge match that started over right vs. left politics. Instead, Jackson found his way back to his feet and started walking down his elder, landing enough punches to push Miletich backward. None of the shots were very hard – the hardest was Miletich’s lack of cardio.

After a conversation with his corner, Miletich got up, looking utterly exhausted, and signaled he was done fighting. Pulver went over to Jackson and appeared to menace the out-of-town fighter, who celebrated briefly. According to one broadcaster, Pulver said, “I’ll f*** you up.”

Cooler heads eventually prevailed, however, and Jackson gave Miletich his props as a legend of the sport. He ended his post-fight interview with a cry of “Wakanda Forever.”

Miletich, a well-known figure in right-wing MMA politics, gave Jackson his respect.

“I gotta be honest…something that never happened to me in a fight: I gassed,” Miletich said. “Halfway through 2, I literally couldn’t breathe. I feel like a coward, because I trained as hard as I could, but smart fight by Mike, and hat’s off to him.”