MMA Hall of Fame: Mark "The Hammer" Coleman

MMA Record: 17-10

Mark “The Hammer” Coleman was a collegiate wrestler at Miami (OH) University before transferring to Ohio State University where he became an NCAA Champion. He also competed in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain finishing with a 7th place in the Freestyle Wrestling category.

In 1996, Coleman took on a new chapter in his athletic career when he entered the UFC 10 Heavyweight Tournament. With his wrestling prowess and devastating ground strikes, Coleman figured that he would be a good fit for the “style vs. style” tournament. He was right; Coleman stopped his first two opponents and then knocked out Don “The Predator” Frye to become the UFC 10 Champion.

Later in the year at UFC 11, the Ohio-native submitted Julian Sanchez and Brian Johnston to win back-to-back UFC tournaments. Again, Coleman used takedowns to set up his ground and pound finishing technique that was beginning to catch on as an effective tool for fighters new and seasoned alike.

He won his sixth consecutive fight at UFC 12 by submitting Dan Severn with a neck crank to become the first ever UFC Heavyweight Champion, formerly known as the UFC Superfight Champion. Severn had a style similar to Coleman’s; however “The Hammer” was quicker in the execution, as he was able to get the fight to the ground where he finished it within 3:00 of round one.

Up to this point in his career Coleman had experienced only positives, however five months after winning the UFC Heavyweight belt at UFC 14, Maurice Smith upset Coleman by outlasting him for three rounds to win the unanimous decision and become the next Heavyweight Champion.

The loss to Smith set up a series of defeats for the former champion. Coleman was bested at both UFC 17 and UFC 18, losing to Pete Williams and Pedro Rizzo in respective bouts. His bout with Williams was competitive, but after 12:00 of back-and-forth fighting, Williams caught Coleman with a head kick and knocked him out at the 12:38 marker. The loss to Rizzo was decided after 15:00 when the judges awarded Rizzo a split decision victory in a close but brutal battle.

After losing his last three UFC fights, “The Hammer” decided to take his game overseas to fight for Japan’s top promotion – PRIDE FC. In his first PRIDE fight, Coleman suffered his fourth consecutive loss when Nobuhiko Takada submitted him during the 2nd round of their contest.

Coleman would rebound and get his career back on track after competing in the PRIDE 2000 Open-weight Grand Prix. He submitted Masaki Satake in the opening round in January 2000 and then defeated Akira Shoki, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn in May to become the Open-weight Grand Prix Champion.

> Find a great selection of UFC shirts & apparel and including Intimidation clothing available online through Pro Fighting Fans!

In all, Coleman competed in over seven years and thirteen matches while compiling an overall record of 8-5. In addition to his 2000 Grand Prix Title, Coleman also battled some of the sports’ greatest fighters. He defeated Brazilian legend Allan Goes as well as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua along with American tough-guy, Don Frye in PRIDE events. He also fought Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, and Fedor Emelianenko, whom he lost to twice inside the PRIDE ring.

After his second loss to Fedor at PRIDE 32 in October 2006, the organization ran into financial difficulties causing it to fold and sell the remaining assets to the UFC and its parent company – Zuffa, LLC. Coleman was part of that exchange as many fans were willing to welcome the former champ back with open arms.

At UFC 82, Coleman was given one of the highest honors for a fighter in the Las Vegas-based organization when he was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, making him the 5th fighter to be given that honor.

His first scheduled bout with Brock Lesnar fell through due to an injury that he had suffered, so he returned at UFC 93 in January 2009. He was pitted against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, a man that he had already defeated in PRIDE, in a tough “welcome-back” bout. While he was fighting for the first time in the UFC as a 205-pound fighter, Coleman did win “Fight of the Night” honors for his aggressiveness but fell short with his conditioning. Rua took advantage of a tired Coleman and finished him with strikes late in the 3rd round.

The loss had fans wondering whether it was the weight cut or his veteran age (44) that caused him to fatigue early on in his UFC 93 bout. UFC executives were also interested in finding this out as they matched him up against Stephan Bonnar at the historic UFC 100 in July. Some of the questions were answered against Bonnar as Coleman looked in better shape, and to a certain degree, looked re-invented. He overwhelmed Bonnar with his world class wrestling and taking him to the mat at will. While on top of Bonnar, Coleman worked what he became known for, his ground and pound, for his seventh career victory in the octagon.

He will take his 7-4 UFC record with him for his next test at UFC 109 in February of 2010 when he faces another UFC Hall of Famer and middle-aged hero – Randy Couture.

Coleman will forever be known as the “Father of Ground and Pound.” His contributions to MMA can be witnessed anytime you see a wrestling-based fighter utilize his takedowns and ground and pound style. And while his career may be winding down as a fighter at 45 years of age, his legacy will not, instead will continue to grow as we watch the evolution of mixed martial arts continue.

By Nick Russell
ProFighting-fans.com Senior MMA Staff Writer
Published February 2010

Photo courtesy of UFC