Mark Coleman is called “The Hammer” with good reason. When involved in a Mixed Martial Arts match, Coleman will use his wrestling training to bring his opponent to the floor and proceed to strike furiously. Often known as the “ground and pound” technique, Mark prefers to use strikes to the head or to the ribs, usually leading to a very one-sided fight. And should that fail to bring down his opponent, he will resort to using his powerful knees. Before UFC changed it’s official match rules, Mark Coleman would also be known to use powerful headbutts to rattle his foes. Should his game need improvement; like most wrestlers his submission skills are usually last resort tactics, sometimes brought about by his tendency to get tired easily during his matches. This makes it in his favor to try and end the fight as quickly as possible, using powerful strikes with the intention of knocking his opponent out cold or bringing about a referee stoppage.
Mark Coleman was born in Fremont, Ohio on December 20th, 1964. He has from the start always been a very competitive and athletic young man. during Highschool he was involved in the football, baseball and wrestling teams. For the wrestling team he achieved two-time state champion and one-time runner up. He was offered a scholarship at Miami of Ohio, an offer which he gladly accepted. At that point he was convinced that he wanted to pursue a career in wrestling and would become a two-time Mid American Champion and place 4th at the NCAA Division One Finals. For his senior year, Mark would transfer to Ohio State. While on the Ohio State wrestling team Coleman would become a national champion as well as graduate in 1988 with a degree in education.
In the end, Mark Coleman would do little with his degree in education. His heart and talent were too much into wrestling for a regular life to hold any interest for him. In 1991 he would win a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Cuba. Shortly after he would win the United States National Freestyle Championships, giving him a chance to participate in the World Championships from which he earned a silver medal.
In 1992, during a true highlight of his career, Mark Coleman would make the Olympic Wrestling Team and would place 7th at the Olympics. Later, in 1995, at the Swankiest Open tournament he would defeat the World Champion Kurt Angle. In 1996 he would once again try out for the Olympic Wrestling Team but wouldn’t make it past the semi-finals. Luckily he would be approached by a representative from the Ultimate Fighting Championships and offered a contract to fight at UFC 10 -The Tournament-.
For UFC 10, Coleman would face Moti Horenstein, Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridg, and the previous champion Don Frye, defeating all and winning the tournament in the ultimate of debuts. At UFC 11-The Proving Ground-, Coleman would once again walk away the champion of the tournament, defeating Julian Sanchez, Brian Johnston, and winning by default against Scott Ferrozzo (Who was too exhausted to begin the match).
At UFC 12 -The Showdown- , Mark Coleman would face off against UFC Heavyweight Champion, Dan Severn on the 2nd of February 1997. The fight would end quickly, as Colman would manage to get off a tricky choke hold upon his opponent causing Severn to submit. Coleman could now add “UFC Heavyweight Champion” to his increasing list of career highlights and victories. His reign as champion would be short-lived however.
At UFC 14 -The Showdown- Mark Coleman would lose his title to Maurice Smith in the event’s highlight match. It would be a long grueling match, but eventually would come down to judges’ decision. Coleman would return again for UFC 17 and 18. He would win neither and would not return to the UFC for future events.
After leaving the UFC, Mark Coleman would join PRIDE and has been a regular fighter for the organization ever since. With victories against Masaaki Satake, Allan Goes, and Don Frye, Mark “The Hammer” Coleman still has what it takes to compete. He is often considered to be on the verge of retirement, but he is still considered a fan-favorite because of his furious fighting style.
Mark Coleman has an upcoming match against PRIDE Heavyweight Champion, Fedor Emelianenko.
Fight Record 15-8-0
- 10-21-2006 - Lost to Fedor Emelianenko, PRIDE 32, Submission Round 2, 1:15
- 02-26-2006 - Defeats Mauricio Rua, PRIDE 31, TKO Round 1, 0:49
- 10-09-2005 - Defeats Milco Voom, BE-RR, Submission Round 1, 0:56
- 02-20-2005 - Lost to Mirko Filipovic, PRIDE 29, KO Round 1, 3:40
- 04-25-2004 - Lost to Fedor Emelianenko, PRIDE TE 04, Submission Round 1, 2:11
- 06-08-2003 - Defeats Don Frye, PRIDE 26, Unanimous Decision
- 09-24-2001 - Lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, PRIDE 16, Submission Round 1, 6:10
- 03-25-2001 - Defeats Allan Goes, PRIDE 13, TKO Round 1, 1:19
- 05-01-2000 - Defeats Igor Vovchanchyn, PRIDE GP 2K, Submission Round 2, 3:09
- 05-01-2000 - Defeats Kazuyuki Fujita, PRIDE GP 2K, TKO (Forfeit)
- 05-01-2000 - Defeats Akira Shoji, PRIDE GP 2K, Decision
- 01-30-2000 - Defeats Masaaki Satake, PRIDE GP 2K OR, Submission Round 1, 1:14
- 10-21-1999 - Defeats Ricardo Morais, PRIDE 8, Decision
- 04-29-1999 - Lost to Nobuhiko Takada, PRIDE 5, Submission Round 2, 1:44
- 01-08-1999 - Lost to Pedro Rizzo, UFC 18, Decision
- 05-15-1998 - Lost to Pete Williams, UFC 17, KO(Kick) Round 1, 12:38
- 07-27-1997 - Lost to Maurice Smith, UFC 14, Decision
- 02-07-1997 - Defeats Dan Severn, UFC 12, Submission Round 1, 2:57
- 09-20-1996 - Defeats Brian Johnston, UFC 11, Submission Round 1, 2:20
- 09-20-1996 - Defeats Julian Sanchez, UFC 11, Submission Round 1, 0:45
- 07-12-1996 - Defeats Don Frye, UFC 10, TKO Round 1, 11:34
- 07-12-1996 - Defeats Gary Goodridge, UFC 10, Submission Round 1, 7:00
- 07-12-1996 - Defeats Moti Horenstein, UFC 10, Submission Round 1, 2:43
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