Dominic Doyle, 21, died from stab wounds after a brawl outside a pub in Greater Manchester on 7 June last year.
Colin McDonald, described at Manchester Crown Court as "an extremely dangerous individual", is among six people sentenced over the attack.
McDonald, 42, of Acre Street, Denton, must serve a minimum of 15 years after being found guilty of manslaughter.
The court heard that McDonald, whose 15-year-old stepson was also involved in the attack, was convicted of manslaughter in 1997, and for causing death by dangerous driving in 2011.
The first conviction involved the death of accountant Jonathan Tripp, who drowned after McDonald pushed him into a canal in Manchester.
The second was a hit-and-run collision that killed Wayne Leary in Failsworth.
Five other people have been jailed for their part in the attack on Mr Doyle, which happened outside Hughes' Bar on Manchester Road, Denton.
The court heard Mr Doyle had been an innocent bystander during the brawl, which broke out at about 03:00 BST and involved two groups of men.
However, he was chased and attacked with teenager Mitchell Ingham using a knife to stab and slash "indiscriminately".
The court heard that without McDonald's leadership, Mr Doyle's death would not have happened.
He could have stopped his stepson taking a knife out after storming into their home in a rage, but instead he went to support the boy, the court was told.
An 18-year-old man was also treated for stab wounds in hospital.
After the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Ian Crewe, of Greater Manchester Police, said everyone sentenced had been "involved in extreme violence and time and time again we see these cases where a night out ends in tragedy.
"A young man has lost his life because of a senseless act of extreme violence and a family have to come to terms with that.
"Another person was extremely fortunate to survive this attack having been left unconscious in the street."
A man who already has convictions for killing two people has been jailed for life for the manslaughter of a third.