Mark Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic, collegiate, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the worl ...

. Coleman was the

UFC 10 ''UFC 10: The Tournament'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 12, 1996, at the Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later re ...

and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the

Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the

UFC Hall of Fame The UFC Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors mixed martial artists and MMA personalities, established and maintained by the U.S.-based mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In a ...

. 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 use the strategy that he coined ''

ground-and-pound Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...

'' successfully, earning him the moniker, "The Godfather of Ground & Pound". In the sport of wrestling, Coleman was a

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

runner-up and

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

Gold medalist in 1991, won three Pan American Championships, competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics and was an NCAA Division I National Champion for the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

Background

Coleman was born in

Fremont, Ohio Fremont is a city in Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Sandusky River about southeast of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo and west of Sandusky, Ohio, Sandusky. The population was 15,930 at the 2020 United St ...

in 1964. He began freestyle wrestling as a teenager and in 1981 was the first state champion wrestler for Saint Joseph Central Catholic High School (Fremont, Ohio). He then finished second in his sophomore year before claiming his second state championship in 1983. He continued to wrestle for

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, in Ohio, where he was a two-time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion and earned his first

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors in 1986. In his senior year, he transferred to

The Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

and won an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship in 1988. Out of college, he started as an assistant coach at his

alma mater Alma mater (; : almae matres) is an allegorical Latin phrase meaning "nourishing mother". It personifies a school that a person has attended or graduated from. The term is related to ''alumnus'', literally meaning 'nursling', which describes a sc ...

. Additionally, he was awarded a spot on the US Wrestling team, placing second (100 kg) at the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships in

Varna, Bulgaria Varna (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in the Northern Bulgaria region. Situated strategically in the Gulf of Varna, t ...

, and placing seventh overall in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona, Spain. He participated 1996 Olympic Trials, but self-claimed lack of focus on wrestling hindered his performance, resulting in a loss in the semifinals. Coleman's collegiate wrestling record totaled 101 wins and 12 losses. He had 50 wins and 2 losses in his final season, in which he won the NCAA D1 national title at 189 pounds.

Mixed martial arts career

Facing the twilight of his amateur wrestling career, Coleman transitioned to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts after accidentally turning on a TV channel where the

UFC 1 ''The Ultimate Fighting Championship'' (later renamed ''UFC 1: The Beginning'') was the first mixed martial arts event by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), held at the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver, Colorado, United States, on Novembe ...

was ongoing.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Coleman won his first two tournaments in dominating fashion, including a win over UFC 8 champion Don Frye at

in 1996, and becoming the first UFC Heavyweight Champion after submitting UFC Superfight Champion

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...

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 with

Joe Rogan Joseph James Rogan (born August 11, 1967) is an American podcaster, Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC color commentator, comedian, actor, and former television host. He hosts The Joe Rogan Experience, ''The Joe Rogan Experience'', which is o ...

, 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 ''UFC 17: Redemption'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 15, 1998, at the Mobile Civic Center, in Mobile, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on ...

. Coleman was originally scheduled to face

Randy Couture Randall Duane Couture (; born June 22, 1963) is an American mixed martial arts commentator, actor, former United States Army sergeant, former professional mixed martial artist, and former Collegiate wrestling, collegiate and Greco-Roman wrestlin ...

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 Kenneth Wayne Shamrock ( né Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract, under the ring name Ken Shamrock. He is best known ...

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 Sebastiaan "Bas" Rutten (; born 24 February 1965) is a Dutch-American actor, former mixed martial artist, kickboxer and professional wrestler. As a kickboxer, he fought 16 times, winning the first 14 matches by knockout, 13 in the first round ...

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. The decision was controversial, with many and Coleman himself believing he did enough to win. In a recent interview, Coleman said he still feels the effects of the controversial decision loss to Rizzo.

Pride Fighting Championships

From 1999 through 2006, The Hammer continued his career with Japanese promotion,

while also making appearances with the

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

promotion HUSTLE. At Pride 5, Coleman fought

Nobuhiko Takada Nobuhiko Takada (, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) and the Uni ...

, 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, with many believing the fight was fixed. 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." Coleman won the

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

2000 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament defeating Masaaki Satake,

Akira Shoji Akira Shoji (小路晃) (born January 31, 1974) is a retired Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is most known as being a regular in almost all the beginning Pride Fighting Championship Shoji was in Pri ...

Kazuyuki Fujita is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Championship ...

, and

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, ; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early Mixed martial arts, no holds barred MMA contests. After making his professional MMA debut in 1995, he won nin ...

. The final was scheduled to be fought with a 20-minute time limit but according to Coleman, the day before the fight the rules were changed to no time limit. The change forced him to modify his game plan to attempt a quick finish as he did not believe he could put Vovchanchyn away with his ground and pound in a long match. 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 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

. "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 Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, amateur and professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he ...

, Wes Sims and

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is an American former mixed martial artist, kickboxer, boxer, and professional wrestler. Baroni competed in the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteXC, Bellator MMA, Titan FC, Palace Fi ...

, Team Hammer House quickly gained a reputation of turning out world-class fighters. Mark Coleman returned to MMA competition at

Pride 26 The year 2003 was the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follo ...

to face Don Frye in a rematch of their meeting at

; 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 apologized to the fans for the lack of action during the fight, in which he had spent the majority of the time taking down and maintaining positional dominance 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 Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a Croatian former professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

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

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. An outraged Chute Boxe refused to accept Coleman's backstage apology. The Chute Boxe team was assigned a yellow card for instigating this infraction. Coleman's contract was fought out at this point, and he subsequently re-signed with the organization. On October 21, 2006, Mark Coleman again faced Pride heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko at Pride's first American show, Pride 32: The Real Deal, and lost via submission (armbar) at 1:17 of round two. Mark Coleman appeared with teammate,

, on the US

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program ...

broadcast of the final

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

, making him the 5th inductee. Coleman announced that he was not retiring and would return to the octagon to fight

Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...

on August 9 in

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

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. Coleman faced Maurício Rua in a rematch in their first bout in the UFC at UFC 93 and lost by technical knockout as a result of punches late in the third round. This fight earned him a $40,000 '' Fight of the Night'' award. At

UFC 109 ''UFC 109: Relentless'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on February 6, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background A previously rumoured bout between Renzo Gracie and M ...

, Coleman faced fellow UFC Hall of Famer

, after originally being scheduled to meet at

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 In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, his sixth loss in his last 10 fights, he was released by the promotion.

Retirement from MMA

After going over three years without competing Coleman announced via

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

that he has officially retired from MMA competition at 48 years of age.

UFC 300

After Coleman saved his parents from a burning house in March 2024, fighter

Max Holloway Jerome Max Keli'i Holloway (born December 4, 1991) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight and Lightweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Fea ...

suggested that Coleman be the one to present the symbolic "BMF" ("baddest motherfucker") belt to the winner of the title fight at UFC 300 on April 13, 2024. This request was granted and Coleman ended up wrapping the belt around Holloway, who was victorious in his bout against Justin Gaethje.

Fight Circus

On January 12, 2025, Coleman returned to the ring and competed at Fight Circus 12 in Phuket, Thailand in a "wheelchair boxing match" against the CEO of the promotion Jon Nutt. Both fighters were strapped into a wheelchair and were pushed around the ring by their cornermen with Coleman's cornerman being former UFC fighter Matt Brown. At the end of the fight, both men stood up from their wheelchairs and Coleman knocked out Nutt at the last second.

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling (2000–2002)

In December 2000, Coleman had his first

match when he was invited to the event Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2000, teaming up with Mark Kerr to defeat Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata. He would also appear for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, defeating Nagata in a singles match. In 2002, Coleman would appear in

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

's Wrestle-1 project, teaming up with

to face

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician and semi-retired professional wrestler who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. As a professional wrestler, Hase primarily worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and also for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJ ...

and

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former two-time MLW World Heavyweight Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Champion and former one half of the MLW W ...

in a losing effort, and later Jan the Giant Convict and Singh the Giant Convict in a victory, with Coleman himself pinning Singh with a

hurricanrana Professional wrestling throws are the application of professional wrestling techniques that involve lifting the opponent up and throwing or slamming them down. They are sometimes also called "power" maneuvers, as they are meant to emphasize a wrest ...

Hustle (2004–2007)

In 2004, Coleman started wrestling for Hustle and its partner promotion

Pro Wrestling Zero-One , often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001 ...

. He debuted in the first as part of Generalissimo Takada's villainous faction Monster Army, going against babyface

Toshiaki Kawada (born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In the promotion, he was a five-time Triple Crown He ...

in a singles match which Mark lost by TKO. Coleman continued teaming up with other Monster Army wrestlers, including Dan Bobish, Commander An Jo and Giant Silva, but he was kicked out of the stable after failing to defeat top face

Naoya Ogawa (born 31 March 1968) is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships (second only behind Yasuhiro Yamashita), an ...

, thus becoming a babyface himself. Coleman then went free and ended up joining

Wataru Sakata is a Japanese people, Japanese retired mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. A professional MMA competitor from 1994 until 2016, Sakata fought for Fighting Network RINGS, Pride FC, Deep (mixed martial arts), Deep a ...

's team after losing a bout to him. Coleman and Sakata were successful as a tag team, but it was dissolved after Coleman left the promotion in 2005. Two years later, Coleman returned to Hustle under the masked persona "Coleman", teaming up with the

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

-like team of Randleman, Kintaman and Kurodaman. Their biggest victory was when Coleman and Randleman faced the trio of Giant Vabo,

Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami and ...

and Tajiri and won the match despite the numeric disadvantage. Mark's last match in Hustle was in July 2007, leaving the promotion again afterwards.

Inoki Genome Federation (2007-2010)

From 2007 to 2010, Coleman was a usual member of

Inoki Genome Federation The (IGF), also known in China as International Glory Fighting, was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) after se ...

, wrestling names like Naoya Ogawa, Tadao Yasuda, Shinichi Suzukawa and Hideki Suzuki.

Personal life

Coleman has two daughters, Mackenzie and Morgan, from his previous marriage. Coleman has a third daughter, Skylar, with his current partner Tina. 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. However his team, the Columbus Razorclaws, were unable to get off the ground, and he was replaced as a coach by Frank Shamrock the following month. In 2018, Coleman revealed that he was one of the victims of Richard Strauss regarding the Ohio State University abuse scandal. In late 2020, Coleman reported that he suffered a heart attack due to a complete artery blockage, and underwent a surgery to have a

stent In medicine, a stent is a tube usually constructed of a metallic alloy or a polymer. It is inserted into the Lumen (anatomy), lumen (hollow space) of an anatomic vessel or duct to keep the passageway open. Stenting refers to the placement of ...

installed. In an interview with Ariel Helwani in September 2021, Coleman revealed that Wes Sims persuaded him to participate in rehab due to a drinking problem. In the interview Coleman stated that multiple personal life issues contributed to the situation and also that he's been sober since the rehab. In March 2024, a house fire began at Coleman's parents' home in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. Coleman retrieved his parents, but his dog did not survive the fire. Coleman was hospitalized and put in critical condition due to

smoke inhalation Smoke inhalation is the breathing in of harmful fumes (produced as by-products of combusting substances) through the respiratory tract. This can cause smoke inhalation injury (a kind of acute inhalation injury) which is damage to the respirator ...

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

( Pioneer Wing, Class of 2008) and ( Fight Wing, Class of 2016) vs. Pete Williams at

** UFC Heavyweight Championship (1 Time, first) **

Tournament Champion ** UFC 11 Tournament Champion ** UFC Viewer's Choice Award ** Fight of the Night (One time) vs. Maurício Rua ** UFC Encyclopedia Awards *** Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Don Frye,

and Maurice Smith *** Knockout of the Night (One time) vs. Moti Horenstein *** Submission of the Night (Two times) vs. Julian Sanchez and

**UFC.com Awards ***2009: Ranked #8 Loss of the Year & Ranked #6 Upset of the Year *

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

** Pride 2000 Grand Prix Openweight Tournament Winner **Fastest win in

History (0:02) **One of only two fighters to win Tournaments in both

Pride FC PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

and UFC *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

** Fight of the Year (1997) vs. Maurice Smith on July 27 *

World MMA Awards The World MMA Awards are awards presented by ''Fighters Only'' magazine to honor exceptional performance in various aspects of mixed martial arts. Winners are presented with the ''Fighters Only silver statuette''. The World MMA Awards are divided ...

**2024 Lifetime Achievement Award **2024 Fighting Spirit of the Year for bravery - fearlessly rescuing family and loved ones from a burning building

Amateur wrestling

* 1986

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

Championships: (190 lbs 4th Place) * 1988 NCAA Big Ten Championships: (190 lbs 1st Place) * 1988

Championships: (190 lbs 1st Place) * 1990 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (90 kg 1st Place) * 1991 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (100 kg 1st Place) *

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...

Freestyle Wrestling: (100 kg 1st Place) * 1991 U.S.A. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships: (100 kg 1st Place) * 1991 FILA World Freestyle Wrestling Championships: (100 kg 2nd Place) * 1992 Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling: (100 kg 1st place) *

Freestyle Wrestling: (100 kg 7th Place)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 16–10 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

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, KO (punches and soccer kick) , PRIDE 29 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:40 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–6 , Fedor Emelianenko , Submission (armbar) , PRIDE Total Elimination 2004 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:11 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 13–5 , Don Frye , Decision (unanimous) ,

PRIDE 26 The year 2003 was the 7th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2003 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 25 - Body Blow''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The follo ...

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Yokohama, Kanagawa is the second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a population of 3.7 million in 2023. It lies on Tokyo B ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–5 , Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira , Submission (triangle armbar) ,

PRIDE 16 The year 2001 was the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters T ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:10 ,

Osaka, Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 , Allan Goes , KO (knees) , PRIDE 13: Collision Course , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:19 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 ,

, TKO (submission to knees) , rowspan=3,

PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals Pride is a human secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on context, may be viewed as either vi ...

, rowspan=3, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:09 , rowspan=3,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 10–4 ,

, TKO (corner stoppage) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:02 , , - , Win , align=center, 9–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 , Masaaki Satake , Submission (can opener) ,

PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Opening Round Pride is a human secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on context, may be viewed as either vi ...

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:14 ,

, Japan , , - , Win , align=center, 7–4 , Ricardo Morais , Decision (unanimous) , PRIDE 8 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 10:00 ,

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–4 ,

, Submission (heel hook) , PRIDE 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:44 ,

Nagoya, Aichi is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

, Japan , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 , Pedro Rizzo , Decision (split) , UFC 18 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 15:00 ,

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 , Pete Williams , KO (head kick) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 12:38 ,

Mobile, Alabama Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–1 , Maurice Smith , Decision (unanimous) , UFC 14 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 21:00 ,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 ,

, Submission (scarf-hold) , UFC 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Dothan, Alabama Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County, Alabama, Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale County, Alabama, Dale and Henry County, Alabama, Henry counties. It had a population ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 ,

Brian Johnston Brian Alexander Johnston (24 June 1912 – 5 January 1994), nicknamed Johnners, was a British cricket commentator, author, and television presenter. He was most prominently associated with the BBC during a career which lasted from 1946 until h ...

, TKO (submission to punches) , rowspan=2, UFC 11 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , rowspan=2,

Augusta, Georgia Augusta is a city on the central eastern border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The city lies directly across the Savannah River from North Augusta, South Carolina at the head of its navigable portion. Augusta, the third mos ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Julian Sanchez , Submission (scarf hold) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:45 , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Don Frye , TKO (punches) , rowspan=3,

, rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 11:34 , rowspan=3,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Gary Goodridge , Submission (exhaustion) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 7:00 , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Moti Horenstein , TKO (submission to punches) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:43 ,

Fight Circus record

References

External links

UFC.com Hall of Fame Profile
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Mark Coleman at wrestlinghalloffame.orgIMDb entry for Smashing Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Mark 1964 births American male professional wrestlers American catch wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Ohio Light heavyweight mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing freestyle wrestling Living people Professional wrestlers from Ohio Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters Ultimate Fighting Championship champions Sportspeople from Fremont, Ohio Wrestlers at the 1992 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Sportspeople from Columbus, Ohio Miami RedHawks wrestlers Ohio State Buckeyes wrestlers World Wrestling Championships medalists Olympic wrestlers for the United States Wrestlers at the 1991 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in wrestling 20th-century American sportsmen