Mark Coleman

[HISTORY]

Statistics
Name: Mark Coleman
Nickname: The Hammer
Height: 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight: 255 lb (116 kg)
Nationality: American
Born: December 20, 1964
Fighting Out Of: Columbus, Ohio
Town Of Birth: Fremont, Ohio
Fighting Style: Freestyle Wrestling

Mixed Martial Arts Record
Wins: 16
By (T)KO: 4
By Submission: 8
By Decision: 4
Losses: 10
Draws: 0
No Contests: 0

Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial arts competitor, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix Champion, and member of the UFC Hall of Fame. Coleman is a former NCAA National Champion Wrestler from The Ohio State University, and former Olympic amateur wrestler. Coleman is credited with proving the ability of wrestlers to dominate in the developing sport of mixed martial arts, and with being the inventor of the strategy that came to be known as "ground and pound". Coleman began his career freestyle wrestling, going on to win an NCAA wrestling championship, and competing in the 1992 Summer Olympics, taking seventh place overall. Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments, UFC 10 where he beat defending champion and fellow superstar, Don Frye and UFC 11 in 1996, and becoming the UFC's first Heavyweight Champion when he submitted Dan Severn via neck crank at UFC 12. Coleman lost his title to Maurice Smith, was knocked out by Pete Williams, and lost a decision to Pedro Rizzo in his last UFC fight. From 2000 through 2006, Coleman resurrected his career with PRIDE Fighting Championships in Japan, while also making appearances with the professional wrestling promotion HUSTLE in Japan. He won the PRIDE 2000 open-weight Grand Prix tournament defeating Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn. Coleman was once again at the top of the mixed-martial arts world. He continued to thrive the next 5 years facing top flight competition and maintaining his reputation as on of the toughest heavyweights in the world. He appeared with teammate, Kevin Randleman, on the US PPV broadcast of the final PRIDE event, PRIDE 34 "Kamikaze", stating that he intended to keep fighting, even though many have said that his career is winding down and he should retire. More recently, in July of 2007, in an interview with MMAWeekly.com, Coleman stated his intentions to return to fight at least one more time in The Ultimate Fighting Championship. He believes that even though he is 4-4 in his last 8 matches, he has more fight in him, and he even goes as far as to state that he would match up well against current UFC Heavyweight Champion, Randy Couture. Mark Coleman is also the founder of Team Hammer House, a mixed martial arts team and training facility in Columbus, Ohio.

MMA Fight History:
-February 6' 2010: lost to Randy Couture, UFC 109: Relentless, 2nd round 1:09 Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
-July 11' 2009: defeated Stephan Bonnar, UFC 100, 3rd round 5:00 Unanimous Decision
-January 17' 2009: lost to Mauricio Rua, UFC 93: Franklin .vs. Henderson, 3rd round 4:36 TKO (Strikes)
-October 21' 2006: lost to Fedor Emelianenko, PRIDE FC 32: The Real Deal, 2nd round 1:15 Submission (Armbar)
-February 26' 2006: defeated Mauricio Rua, PRIDE FC 31: Unbreakable, 1st round 0:49 TKO (Injury)
-October 9' 2005: defeated Milco Voorn, Bushido Europe-Rotterdam Rumble, 1st round 0:56 Submission (Forearm Choke)
-February 20' 2005: lost to Mirko Crocop, PRIDE FC 29: Fists Of Fire, 1st round 3:40 KO (Punches)
-April 25' 2004: lost to Fedor Emelianenko, PRIDE FC Total Elimination 2004, 1st round 2:11 Submission (Armbar)
-June 8' 2003: defeated Don Frye, PRIDE FC 26: Bad To The Bone, 3rd round 5:00 Unanimous Decision
-September 24' 2001: lost to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, PRIDE FC 16: Beasts From The East, 1st round 6:10 Submission (Triangle Choke/Armbar)
-March 25' 2001: defeated Allan Goes, PRIDE FC 13: Collision Course, 1st round 1:19 TKO (Strikes)
-May 1' 2000: defeated Igor Vovchanchyn, PRIDE FC Grand Prix 2000 Finals, 2nd round 3:09 Submission (Strikes)
-May 1' 2000: defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, PRIDE FC Grand Prix 2000 Finals, 1st round 0:02 TKO (Corner Stoppage)
-May 1' 2000: defeated Akira Shoji, PRIDE FC Grand Prix 2000 Finals, 1st round 15:00 Unanimous Decision
-January 30' 2000: defeated Masaaki Satake, PRIDE FC Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round, 1st round 1:14 Submission (Guillotine Choke)
-November 21' 1999: defeated Ricardo Morais, PRIDE FC 8, 2nd round 10:00 Unanimous Decision
-April 29' 1999: lost to Nobuhiko Takada, PRIDE FC 5, 2nd round 1:44 Submission (Heel Hook)
-January 8' 1999: lost to Pedro Rizzo, UFC 18: Road To The Heavyweight Title, 1st round 15:00 Split Decision
-May 15' 1998: lost to Pete Williams, UFC 17: Redemption, 1st round 12:38 KO (Kick)
-July 27' 1997: UFC Heavyweight Title: lost to Maurice Smith, UFC 14: Showdown, 1st round 21:00 Unanimous Decision
-February 7' 1997: UFC Heavyweight Title: defeated Dan Severn, UFC 12: Judgement Day, 1st round 2:57 Submission (Brabo Choke)
-September 20' 1996: defeated Brian Johnston, UFC 11: The Proving Ground, 1st round 2:20 Submission (Strikes)
-September 20' 1996: defeated Julian Sanchez, UFC 11: The Proving Ground, 1st round 0:45 Submission (Forearm Choke)
-July 12' 1996: defeated Don Frye, UFC 10: The Tournament, 1st round 11:34 TKO (Strikes)
-July 12' 1996: defeated Gary Goodridge, UFC 10: The Tournament, 1st round 7:00 Submission (Exhaustion)
-July 12' 1996: defeated Moti Horenstein, UFC 10: The Tournament, 1st round 2:43 Submission (Strikes)