MMA Legacy 02.02.10: Mark Coleman
Posted by Bill Wannop on 02.02.2010
MMA Legacy is back this week examining the career of the originator of ground and pound, Mark 'The Hammer' Coleman! From his dominating performances in the early UFC tournaments, to his rivalry with Shogun Rua, join us as we start the build to UFC 109 and examine the career of one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time!
Each and every week MMA Legacy shines the spotlight on a MMA legend. The legends may be retired or may be still actively competing. The column will begin with a bio on the selected legend following his career throughout its highs and lows. This week we decided to focus one of the true legends in MMA and the originator of ground and pound, Mark ‘the Hammer' Coleman! From early days dominating in the UFC to his feud with Shogun Rua, join us as we relive the amazing career of The Hammer.
Mark Coleman was born December 20, 1964 (making him 45 years old today) in Fremont Ohio. He started freestyle wrestling as a teenager and went to Miami University where he became a two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion. He won the NCAA championship in his senior year when he transferred to Ohio State University. After University he competed in the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain in 1992 where he placed 7th overall in the 100kg category.
Seeing that there was more money in fighting then in wrestling, Coleman competed in UFC 10: The Tournament as a heavyweight and defeated Moti Horenstein by TKO due to strikes in the first round to advance in the tournament. Later that evening, Coleman would defeat Gary Goodridge, by simply out muscling him, earning the submission victory before he even locked in the choke! In the finals of the tournament, Coleman would face Don Frye, Coleman again would out muscle Frye, at one point picking him up over his head for a slam! Frye showed some great heart as he stayed in the fight as long as he could reversing positions and attempting to take Coleman down, but eventually the referee would call the fight giving the victory to Coleman.
Coleman would then compete at UFC 11: The Proving Ground in another tournament. In the first round Coleman made quick work of Julian Sanchez taking him down and forcing him to submit to a neck crank in about 45 seconds. In the semifinals Coleman would defeat Brain Johnson by ground and pound by taking him down and pounding him out rather quickly, to advance to the finals. In the finals Mark defeated nobody and was declared the winner as every other competitor pulled out due to exhaustion or dehydration.
Coleman would fight for the UFC heavyweight championship at UFC 12: Judgment Day against Dan Severn. In the fight Coleman was just too powerful and explosive for Severn, taking him down and locking in another neck crank for the submission victory and the title. Coleman would not have the title for long, as he faced Maurice Smith at UFC 14: Showdown. In the fight, the Achilles heel of Mark Coleman begins to show, in that Coleman's became exhausted in the fight. After a couple of failed takedown attempts Coleman had no endurance left which allowed Smith to pepper him with punches and leg kicks eventually winning a decision victory and taking the title, giving Coleman his first ever defeat.
Coleman would attempt to bounce back at UFC 17: Redemption The original main event was supposed to be Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture for the heavyweight title but Couture was injured so Coleman faced off against Pete Williams. Coleman got some takedowns in regulation but again began to wilt due to his lack of cardio. In the overtime period Williams would connect with a huge head kick that would put Coleman out, giving the huge upset victory to William's and Coleman his second loss in a row. Coleman would again try to rebound at UFC 18: Road to the Heavyweight Title against Pedro Rizzo. In the fight neither fight did much damage as Coleman consistently took Rizzo down, but would end up losing a controversial split decision, giving him his third loss in a row and costing him his contract in the UFC.
He would make his debut in PRIDE at PRIDE 5 but would submit to a heel hook in the second round to Nobuhiko Takada giving him his fourth loss in a row. Coleman would go on a winning streak in PRIDE winning six fights in a row over Ricado Morais, Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, Igor Vovchanchyn, and Alan Goes to win the PRIDE 2000 Open Weight GP. Mark would then get a high profile matchup with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria at PRIDE 16: Beasts from the East. Nogueria was the underdog in the fight but managed to shock everyone by submitting Coleman in the first round with a beautiful armbar.
Following the loss Coleman would take two years off before returning at PRIDE 26: Bad to the Bone to take on Don Frye in a rematch from UFC 10. The fight was similar to their first meeting with Coleman using his strength and wrestling to dominate the position of the fight, but not do any real damage. Coleman would win a decision here and would go on to face top PRIDE fighter Fedor in the PRIDE 2004 Heavyweight GP Opening Round at PRIDE: Total Elimination 2004. In the fight, Coleman would take Fedor down and actually manage to gain mount as well as get the back of Fedor! Fedor would escape the choke, but get taken down again, however he would be able to catch Coleman in an armbar from the guard for the submission victory, eliminating Coleman from the competition.
Coleman would go on to face Mirko CroCop at PRIDE 29: Fists of Fire. Coleman would have trouble getting the fight to the ground however, which allowed CroCop to pick him apart with his striking eventually earning the TKO victory. Coleman would come back with a victory over Milco Voorn at Bushido Europe – Rotterdam Rumble whom he defeated easily in the first round by arm triangle. Coleman would then go on to face top ranked Maurico ‘Shogun' Rua at PRIDE 31: Unbreakable. In a bit of irony, 49 seconds into the fight, Mark Coleman would get a takedown on Rua which would dislocated Rua's arm as he attempt to break his fall. Coleman was ruled the victor, however he continues to punch Rua, going as far as throwing the referee out of the way. Rua's brother would be less then impressed which caused a huge brawl in the ring, where Phil Baroni would get into it with Wanderlei Silva .
Mark Coleman would then get another shot at Fedor at PRIDE 32: The Real Deal. Coleman tried several times to get Fedor to the ground, but he just couldn't finish the takedowns, and when he did attempt them, he ate a ton of punishment. In the second round Coleman finally gots a takedown, but Fedor manages to lock in an armbar for the submission victory.
After the buyout of PRIDE by the UFC, Mark Coleman would sign to face Brock Lesnar at UFC 87, however he would be forced to pull out of the fight due to injury. He would eventually get back into the octagon at UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson in a rematch with Maurico ‘ Shogun' Rua. In the fight Coleman would continually attempt takedowns, getting a large number, but Rua would always be able to scramble to his feet, landing some body shots and leg kicks to Coleman. The second round was similar to the first round, with both fighters looking completely GASSED. In the final round, the fight resembled more of a bar fight, as both men were basically swinging for the fences. Rua would eventually connect knocking Coleman to the ground and earning the TKO victory.
In his most recent fight Mark Coleman faced off against Stephen Bonnar at UFC 100. In the fight Coleman managed to put Bonnar on his back for the majority of the fight and to the surprise of many won a unanimous decision victory to put his MMA record to 16-9. After the fight it was rumored that Coleman was to face off against a returning Tito Ortiz, however that fight never materialized and instead Mark Coleman will take on Randy Couture at UFC 109: Relentless. This fight is many years in the making and was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 17 however an injury to Couture forced the fight to be cancelled.
In the fight with Couture, it will be a battle of fighters with similar styles as both fighters are primarily wrestlers, however Couture is more a Greco Roman wrestler who likes to use the clinch, while Coleman loves to ground and pound. On the feet they are quite evenly matched and I think the only true advantage that Couture has is his cardio which has always been a disadvantage for Coleman. If Coleman can take Couture down he should be able to get a victory over the Natural.
Mark Coleman is truly the innovator of ground and pound style in MMA. He has faced all the top fighters over the years, and is still able to be competitive with the current group of top fighters. His next fight with Couture will indicate whether Coleman's career still has any legs. If he is able to be competitive in the fight he should have a couple more fights against top competition in the UFC, before finally retiring.
Strikeforce: Miami Analysis
Herschel Walker vs. Greg Nagy
In this fight Walker really showed that he indeed trained hard and has some MMA skills (unlike Jose Canseco). He completely dominated Nagy, and in my opinion legitimized himself being in the cage, and even has me interested in seeing him in another fight. The referee finally ended the fight in the third round after Nagy did nothing to stop the ground and pound.
Fight Enjoyment: **1/2*
Bobby Lashley vs. Wes Sims
Lashley is just to strong a wrestler and until he steps into the cage against a strong striker or great submission fighter we will never get a good indication of where he is at. He manhandled Sims on the ground but again looked awkward on his feet. Sims complained about the stoppage, but he was getting owned in there by Lashley. I think next they should match Lashley up with Werdum to truly see where he is at.
Fight Enjoyment: **1/2*
Robbie Lawler vs. Melvin Manhoeff
Lawler got completely beat up and picked apart in this fight, but he managed to catch Melvin with one good shot and put him out. After this fight I was more impressed with Manhoeff, as his striking was beautiful. He mixed his punches nicely and had a wicked leg kick that had Lawler limping minutes into the fight. He got too confident when he had Lawler on the ropes and let his guard down, which cost him. Lawler still is an incomplete fighter to me. He has many skills but he is just lacking somewhere.
Fight Enjoyment:***1/2*
Nick Diaz vs. Marcus Zaromskis
To me this was a really sloppy fight for both guys. Both guys just came out swinging and Nick Diaz used his reach advantage to continually connect with Zaromskis. Zaromskis did land some good shots, even knocking Diaz down once, but Diaz's reach was too much and he finally put Zaromskis away near the end of the third. It is tough to see where Diaz will go from here, as the only challengers I see for him are KJ Noons, Dan Henderson and Gegard.
Fight Enjoyment: ***
Well that does it for another week of MMA Legacy! Enjoy UFC 109!
Each and every week MMA Legacy shines the spotlight on a MMA legend. The legends may be retired or may be still actively competing. The column will begin with a bio on the selected legend following his career throughout its highs and lows. This week we decided to focus one of the true legends in MMA and the originator of ground and pound, Mark ‘the Hammer' Coleman! From early days dominating in the UFC to his feud with Shogun Rua, join us as we relive the amazing career of The Hammer.
Coleman would attempt to bounce back at UFC 17: Redemption The original main event was supposed to be Mark Coleman vs. Randy Couture for the heavyweight title but Couture was injured so Coleman faced off against Pete Williams. Coleman got some takedowns in regulation but again began to wilt due to his lack of cardio. In the overtime period Williams would connect with a huge head kick that would put Coleman out, giving the huge upset victory to William's and Coleman his second loss in a row. Coleman would again try to rebound at UFC 18: Road to the Heavyweight Title against Pedro Rizzo. In the fight neither fight did much damage as Coleman consistently took Rizzo down, but would end up losing a controversial split decision, giving him his third loss in a row and costing him his contract in the UFC.
In his most recent fight Mark Coleman faced off against Stephen Bonnar at UFC 100. In the fight Coleman managed to put Bonnar on his back for the majority of the fight and to the surprise of many won a unanimous decision victory to put his MMA record to 16-9. After the fight it was rumored that Coleman was to face off against a returning Tito Ortiz, however that fight never materialized and instead Mark Coleman will take on Randy Couture at UFC 109: Relentless. This fight is many years in the making and was originally scheduled to take place at UFC 17 however an injury to Couture forced the fight to be cancelled.
