Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman is currently in a life-and-death struggle in the hospital after bravely rescuing his parents from a house fire.
As revealed by his daughter, Morgan heroically carried his parents to safety during the fire but unfortunately couldn’t save his dog, Hammer. The courageous act left Coleman with smoke inhalation, leading to his collapse and subsequent evacuation to the hospital via helicopter.
Mark Coleman’s Career: Overview
Beginning as a teenage freestyle wrestler, Mark Coleman achieved the distinction of being the first state champion wrestler for Saint Joseph Central Catholic High School in Ohio. With two state championships under his belt, Coleman continued his wrestling success at Miami University, becoming a two-time Mid-American Conference champion and earning All-American honors in 1986.
Transitioning to The Ohio State University for his senior year, Coleman secured an NCAA championship in 1988. He represented the US Wrestling team in the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships and the 1992 Summer Olympics.
The turning point came when Coleman, facing the twilight of his amateur wrestling career, stumbled upon UFC 1 on TV. In the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), he quickly rose to prominence, winning tournaments and claiming the title of the first UFC Heavyweight Champion by submitting Dan Severn at UFC 12.
Despite initial success, Coleman experienced ups and downs, including a surprising loss to Maurice Smith at UFC 14 and a career-threatening neck injury. He then ventured into Pride Fighting Championships, winning the Pride 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix and becoming a prominent figure in Japanese MMA.
Coleman’s MMA journey featured highs, like his victories over Don Frye and Maurício “Shogun” Rua, as well as lows, including his submission losses to Fedor Emelianenko. After a three-year hiatus, he returned to the UFC, was inducted into the Hall of Fame, and faced challenges like a planned bout with Brock Lesnar, which fell through due to injury. A dream matchup against Randy Couture at UFC 109 marked a historic clash between two UFC Hall of Fame inductees.
With his last fight in UFC 109 resulting in defeat, Coleman was released by the promotion, concluding his competitive MMA career. After more than three years of retirement, he officially announced his departure from MMA at the age of 48.
