Contributor: Ben Kohn
This is the first installment of a series of articles that will detail the fighting career of UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman.
With the recent news of Mark Coleman needing a hip replacement, it got me thinking. Mark Coleman is one of my all-time favorite fighters. This was a man who when you first saw him, was just absolutely terrifying to be standing across the cage from. At 6’ 1” and tipping the scales at a shredded 245 pounds, this man-beast tore through the UFC Heavyweight division en route to winning two tournaments and the first ever UFC Heavyweight champion as well as tearing through Pride and becoming the 2000 Pride Openweight GP Champion. Coleman was a violent and vicious fighter and whenever I watch one of his fights, I truly connect with the man and even knowing the outcome, I still cheer for him as if I am watching the fight live. The thing that I respect most was the love and respect he had for his fans both in Japan and America and his love for the sport and fans is unparalleled among his peers. He gave everything he had in every fight.
After watching a video interview in which he tells the world how his insurance agency won’t pay for his surgery, thank goodness for MMA Elite offering to pay for it, I am not ashamed to admit that I started to tear up a bit. This man is 48 years old yet looks 15 years older and sounds 25 years older than he is. Seeing this man, a legend, an icon, and Hall of Famer in this way absolutely breaks my heart. In honor of a man whom I personally respect so much, I would like to go through his MMA career from start to finish, highs to lows, and give you all just a small taste of how important and amazing Mark Coleman was, and still is, for the sport.
Mark Coleman entered his first UFC event at 31 years old with a hulking physique and stellar wrestling credentials but no previous fighting experience. His first opponent was Moti Horenstein whose fighting style was simply titled, survival. Now I am not sure what that is supposed to mean but the announcers explained that he was basically a full-contact Karate fighter. The bout began and Mark got the takedown almost immediately and passed right into mount. What followed was an absolutely brutal beatdown of a man whose survival skills has no effect as he was literally a human punching bag for the short duration of the bout. At 2:47, referee Big John McCarthy stopped the fight as Horenstein tapped out to strikes. Mark was so fired up he paced around the octagon as if he just wanted to smash things. Man was he fired up after that victory. This was a foreshadowing of things to come for his next two opponents.
Mark’s second fight of the night was against Gary “Big Daddy” Goodridge. This man was a brawling powerhouse who could knock you out with punches and elbows. His limited ground game was obviously no match for Mark’s however. The bout starts with Goodridge getting taken down about 10 or 12 seconds into the match. Mark controls and beats the hell out of Goodridge on the ground for a while. Eventually, Goodridge is actually able to get up and stick to the fence. This leads to an amusing situation where Goodridge is holding on to the fence and Coleman just wails on him from behind. Goodridge basically walks while holding the cage to get to his corner and listen to their advice. It doesn’t do him much good because Mark keeps blasting him with big shots. Eventually, they break and Goodridge stalks Coleman for a bit before this fight ends up being dragged to the ground again. This time, Goodridge will not get up again until the bout stops. Mark continues to ground and pound Goodridge before he ends up tapping out once Mark gets him flattened out in back mount. The official win is recorded as a TKO due to exhaustion. Mark has just recorded his second win in as many fights, this one being stopped at exactly 7 minutes. Mark’s next opponent is a man who was 6-0, all coming by way of stoppage. He seemed to be an unstoppable force and his name was Don Frye. Mark Coleman was about to derail the Frye hype train.
The final fight that night between Mark Coleman and Don Frye was an excellent display of wrestling skills, heart, and both Mark and Don being tough bastards who were both exhausted and kept pushing regardless of fatigue. This was excellent, albeit one-sided fight for the most part. Mark entered the bout the fresher man having fought for a total of 9:47, dominating each bout throughout while Don fought for a combined 14:59 seconds with his second fight being competitive and taxing for him in his 4:37 fight with Brian Johnston. The majority of the bout took place with Mark doing what he does best and personified his career, top control and ground and pound. The bout went on with both fighters clearly slowing and getting more and more tired to the point where both had issues keeping their hands from hanging down completely. The bout was mercifully stopped at 11:36 by Big John and Mark Coleman had announced his arrival with a bang. The winner of his first 3 fights and UFC tournament, Mark Coleman was clearly a force to be reckoned with, but the fighting world had no idea what they were in for.
-Ben can be reached at [email protected]
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