Mark Coleman

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Mark Coleman
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Born (1964-12-20) December 20, 1964 (age 60)
Fremont, Ohio, United States
Other names The Hammer
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Division Light Heavyweight (2009–2010)
Heavyweight (1996–2006)
Reach 75 in (191 cm)
Fighting out of Columbus, Ohio
Team Team Hammer House[1]
Rank NCAA Division I Wrestling
Olympian Freestyle Wrestling
Years active 1996–2010 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total 26
Wins 16
By knockout 4
By submission 8
By decision 4
Losses 10
By knockout 3
By submission 5
By decision 2
University Ohio State University
Miami University
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Mark Coleman
Medal record
Representing  United States
Men's Freestyle wrestling
Pan American Championships
Gold medal – first place 1990 Colorado Springs -90 kg
Gold medal – first place 1991 -100 kg
Gold medal – first place 1992 -100 kg
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 1991 Havana -100 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 1991 Varna -100 kg

Mark Daniel Coleman[2] (born December 20, 1964) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. Known as The Hammer,[3] he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. At the age of retirement he was taking 150,000 USD salary per year.[4]

Coleman is credited with proving the ability of wrestlers to dominate in the developing sport of mixed martial arts, and with being one of the first in American MMA to successfully use the strategy that he coined; ground-and-pound,[5][6][7] earning him the distinction as "The Godfather of Ground & Pound".[8]

Background

Coleman was born in Fremont, Ohio, U.S. in 1964. He began freestyle wrestling as a teenager, and wrestled for Miami University, in Ohio, where he was a two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion. In his senior year, he transferred to Ohio State University and won an NCAA championship. Out of college, he was awarded a spot on the US Wrestling team, placing second (100 kg) at the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, and placing seventh overall in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.

Mixed martial arts career

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments in dominating fashion, including a win over UFC 8 champion Don Frye at UFC 10 in 1996, and becoming the first UFC Heavyweight Champion after submitting UFC Superfight Champion Dan Severn via neck crank submission at UFC 12.

Coleman made his first UFC Heavyweight Championship title defense at UFC 14, facing kickboxer (and heavy underdog) Maurice Smith. In the pre-fight interview coleman stated "I'm going to ground him and pound the goddamn shit out of him" thus coining the name ground-and-pound. In what turned out to be a long battle, Coleman lost a decision after 21:00 (regulation plus two overtimes). This was considered to be one of the largest upsets in UFC history at that time, largely because of the way Coleman had dominated his opponents in his previous fights.

Coleman took nearly a year off after having to get ACL surgery and returned at UFC 17. Coleman was originally scheduled to face Randy Couture in a title match for the UFC Heavyweight Championship, but Couture was injured during training and was forced to pull out of the fight. Coleman instead faced a relatively unknown (at that time) last minute replacement fighter, up and coming Lion's Den product Pete Williams. In what turned out to be another long and strenuous battle, Coleman appeared to be completely exhausted after 10 minutes; he was fatigued to the point of resting his hands on his knees during the fight. Williams took advantage of Coleman's fatigue and landed a heavy kick to the face, knocking 'The Hammer' out for the first time in his career.

After his loss to Pete Williams, Coleman went to train with former UFC champion Ken Shamrock and his Lion's Den training camp for his upcoming bout with feared Brazilian striker Pedro Rizzo at UFC 18. The fight with Rizzo was part of the "Road to the Heavyweight Title", which was a four-man tournament between Coleman, Rizzo, Bas Rutten and Tsuyoshi Kosaka that would crown the next UFC Heavyweight Champion. After 15:00 the fight went to the judges, and they awarded a split decision win to Rizzo. This bout was a source of controversy to many, including Coleman himself, who felt that he was robbed of the decision win.[9][10][11] In a recent interview, Coleman said he still feels the effects of the controversial decision loss to Rizzo.[11]

Pride Fighting Championships

From 1999 through 2006, The Hammer continued his career with Japanese promotion, Pride Fighting Championships while also making appearances with the professional wrestling promotion HUSTLE.

At Pride 5, Coleman fought Nobuhiko Takada, who would become HUSTLE's owner and booker. Though thought to be the much better fighter, Coleman was caught by a heel hook from Takada and submitted. The validity of this fight has been questioned by many fans.[citation needed] In response to questions about the fight's legitimacy, Coleman said, "It was what it was. I needed to support my family. They guaranteed me another fight after that and I needed that security. It was what it was. I'm going to leave it at that."[12]

Coleman won the Pride 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament defeating Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn. The Hammer's training and 2000 tournament victory are depicted in the documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr.

After a quick TKO victory over Allan Goes at Pride 13 - Collision Course, Coleman faced possibly his toughest challenge ever in Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride 16. "Minotauro" was able to catch the Hammer in a triangle/armbar at 6:10 of the first round, breaking Coleman's six fight winning streak.

Coleman would take nearly two years off following the fight with Nogueira, spending time with his wife and children, and focusing on developing his martial arts training facility and stable of fighters at Team Hammer House. Training such notable fighters as Kevin Randleman, Wes Sims and Phil Baroni, Team Hammer House quickly gained a reputation of turning out world class fighters.

Mark Coleman returned to MMA competition at Pride 26 to face Don Frye in a rematch of their meeting at UFC 10; this proved to be a much tougher battle. Coming back from a career threatening neck injury, Coleman ultimately won a unanimous decision victory after 20 minutes. Following the fight, Coleman apologised to the fans for the lack of action during the fight, in which he had spent the majority of the time in taking down and maintaining positional dominace of Frye with his superior wrestling ability.

Between training fighters and spending time with his family, the Hammer was now fighting roughly once a year. He returned to competition to take place in the Pride 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, as the returning Grand Prix champion in the Open Weight Division. His first round match at Pride Total Elimination 2004 was against Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko. In what turned out to be a short bout, Coleman was submitted by armbar at 2:11 of the first round, eliminating him from the tournament.

Coleman returned to the Pride ring in February 2005, this time facing Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipović at Pride 29: Fists of Fire. Suffering the second knockout of his career, the Hammer fell to strikes by "Cro Cop" in the first round. In November 2005, Mark Coleman appeared in Bushido Europe-Rotterdam Rumble, Europe's first Bushido event, and choked out Milco Voorn at 0:56 of the first round.

The Hammer returned to action at Pride 31 with a victory over Chute Boxe team member Maurício "Shogun" Rua after the fight was stopped when Shogun suffered a dislocated elbow during a Coleman takedown. With Team Hammer House member Phil Baroni in his corner, Coleman began the match by taking Shogun to the ground. At 0:49 of the first round, Rua got up and as he took the first step Coleman grabbed his feet. Rua fell and broke his arm. Coleman then started peppering Rua with strikes before the referee stopped the fight.

Backstage in his post-fight interview, Coleman stated that the whole melee happened in the heat of the moment and that he did not blame the Chute Boxe team for coming in and backing their fighter. He then added that similar to Chute Boxe, Hammer House is also like a family, and thanked Baroni for coming in and watching his back.[13] An outraged Chute Boxe refused to accept Coleman's backstage apology. The Chute Boxe team was assigned a yellow card for instigating this infraction.

On October 21, 2006, Mark Coleman again faced Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Pride's first American show, Pride 32: The Real Deal,[14] and lost via submission (armbar) at 1:17 of round two.

Mark Coleman appeared with teammate, Kevin Randleman, on the US pay-per-view broadcast of the final Pride event, Pride 34: Kamikaze, stating that he intended to keep fighting.

Return to UFC (2008–2010)

At UFC 82, Mark Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, making him the 5th inductee. Coleman announced that he was not retiring and would return to the octagon to fight Brock Lesnar on August 9 in Minneapolis at UFC 87. However, Coleman injured his knee while training, and was forced to pull out of the event. Heath Herring replaced Coleman for the fight.

At UFC 109, Coleman faced fellow UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, after originally being scheduled to meet at UFC 17 in 1998 twelve years prior, in which an injury forced Couture to drop out of the fight. Coleman went on record, multiple times during the build-up for the fight, in which he claimed this was his dream bout. After being outboxed on the feet, Coleman was taken down and defeated shortly after by (Rear Naked Choke) at 1:09 in round 2. The bout marked the first time two UFC Hall of Fame inductees had fought.

Following Coleman's loss to Couture in the main event of UFC 109, his sixth loss in his last 10 fights, he was released by the promotion.[15][16]

Retirement from MMA

After going over three years without competing Coleman announced via Facebook that he has officially retired from MMA competition at 48 years of age.[17]

Personal life

Coleman has two daughters.[18] He appeared in the documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Mark Kerr alongside fellow fighter and former friend Mark Kerr.

In June 2006, it was announced that Coleman was one of the new coaches in the International Fight League, but unable to assemble a team, he was replaced by Ken Shamrock.[19] Coleman acknowledges former UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC Lightweight Champion B.J. Penn as his idol in the sport of mixed martial arts.[20]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

  • MMA Freak.com
    • Hall of Fame, Class of 2014[27]

Amateur wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 16–10 Randy Couture Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 109 February 6, 2010 2 1:09 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Light Heavyweight bout; First UFC Hall of Famer vs. UFC Hall of Famer in UFC history.
Win 16–9 Stephan Bonnar Decision (unanimous) UFC 100 July 11, 2009 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 15–9 Maurício Rua TKO (punches) UFC 93 January 17, 2009 3 4:36 Dublin, Ireland Won Fight of the Night; Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss 15–8 Fedor Emelianenko Submission (armbar) Pride 32 - The Real Deal October 21, 2006 2 1:15 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 15–7 Maurício Rua TKO (broken arm) Pride 31 - Dreamers February 26, 2006 1 0:49 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 14–7 Milco Voorn Submission (arm-triangle choke) Bushido Europe: Rotterdam Rumble October 9, 2005 1 0:56 Rotterdam, South Holland, Netherlands
Loss 13–7 Mirko Filipović KO (punches) Pride 29 February 20, 2005 1 3:40 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 13–6 Fedor Emelianenko Submission (armbar) Pride Total Elimination 2004 April 25, 2004 1 2:11 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Pride FC 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Opening Round.
Win 13–5 Don Frye Decision (unanimous) Pride 26 June 8, 2003 3 5:00 Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Loss 12–5 Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Submission (triangle armbar) Pride 16 September 24, 2001 1 6:10 Osaka, Osaka, Japan
Win 12–4 Allan Goes TKO (knees) Pride 13 - Collision Course March 25, 2001 1 1:19 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 11–4 Igor Vovchanchyn Submission (knees) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals May 1, 2000 2 3:09 Tokyo, Japan Won Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix.
Win 10–4 Kazuyuki Fujita TKO (corner stoppage) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals May 1, 2000 1 0:02 Tokyo, Japan Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix semifinal.
Win 9–4 Akira Shoji Decision (unanimous) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals May 1, 2000 1 15:00 Tokyo, Japan Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix quarterfinal.
Win 8–4 Masaaki Satake Submission (neck crank) Pride Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round January 30, 2000 1 1:14 Tokyo, Japan Pride FC 2000 Openweight Grand Prix Opening Round.
Win 7–4 Ricardo Morais Decision (unanimous) Pride 8 November 21, 1999 2 10:00 Tokyo, Japan
Loss 6–4 Nobuhiko Takada Submission (heel hook) Pride 5 April 29, 1999 2 1:44 Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
Loss 6–3 Pedro Rizzo Decision (split) UFC 18 January 8, 1999 1 15:00 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Loss 6–2 Pete Williams KO (head kick) UFC 17 May 15, 1998 1 12:38 Mobile, Alabama, United States
Loss 6–1 Maurice Smith Decision (unanimous) UFC 14 July 27, 1997 1 21:00 Birmingham, Alabama, United States Lost UFC Heavyweight Championship; Fight of the Year (1997).
Win 6–0 Dan Severn Submission (scarf-hold headlock) UFC 12 February 7, 1997 1 2:57 Dothan, Alabama, United States Won UFC Heavyweight Championship unified with UFC Superfight Championship.
Win 5–0 Brian Johnston Submission (punches) UFC 11 September 20, 1996 1 2:20 Augusta, Georgia, United States Won UFC 11 Tournament.
Win 4–0 Julian Sanchez Submission (choke) UFC 11 September 20, 1996 1 0:45 Augusta, Georgia, United States
Win 3–0 Don Frye TKO (punches) UFC 10 July 12, 1996 1 11:34 Birmingham, Alabama, United States Won UFC 10 Tournament.
Win 2–0 Gary Goodridge Submission (exhaustion) UFC 10 July 12, 1996 1 7:00 Birmingham, Alabama, United States
Win 1–0 Moti Horenstein Submission (punches) UFC 10 July 12, 1996 1 2:43 Birmingham, Alabama, United States

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ [1] Archived March 2, 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ "In fact, he's known as the "Godfather of Ground & Pound". Mark Coleman has got such a long list of wrestling titles, but it's when he stepped into mixed martial arts that he really proved the dominance of wrestlers who can go into the guard and strike or take you down and strike. He is the man responsible for coining the term 'ground and pound'" referring to his ability to takedown and then punch, elbow, and knee his way to victory (Stephen Quadros, Pride 16, 2001)
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Sherdog.com Mark "The Hammer" Coleman Interview-Part 3 of 4 December 18, 2000
  10. ↑ Sherdog.com Mark "The Hammer" Coleman Interview-Part 2 of 4 December 18, 2000
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ [2] Archived February 13, 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ [3][dead link]
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Achievements
Preceded by UFC 10 Heavyweight Tournament winner
July 12, 1996		 Succeeded by
Mark Coleman
Preceded by
Mark Coleman
 UFC 11 Heavyweight Tournament winner
September 20, 1996		 Succeeded by
Vitor Belfort
New championship 1st UFC Heavyweight Champion
February 7, 1997 – July 27, 1997		 Succeeded by
Maurice Smith
New championship Pride Grand Prix Tournament winner
2000		 Succeeded by
Wanderlei Silva

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