Feb-4-2010

Mark Coleman – Never Count ‘The Hammer’ Out

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By Thomas Gerbasi

Mark Coleman is living the impossible dream. Of course, he’d probably disagree with that assessment, considering he’s spent the last 40 days of his life in Las Vegas, torturing his body in the gym while he misses his two daughters back in Ohio.

And by all rights, he shouldn’t have been here in the first place, with his name on top of the marquee as he headlines UFC 109 this Saturday night against Randy Couture. But he is, after first defying the odds in 2009 by returning from a nearly three year break most assumed was a retirement to push Mauricio Rua to the brink at UFC 93, and then defeat Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 with a ground attack that brought back memories of the man who dominated the UFC in 1996-97. What’s to say about the 45-year old’s resurgence other than ‘you can’t keep a good man down?’

“I don’t know about other people, but for me there’s just no choice,” said Coleman of his ability to continually resurrect his career. “I’m not gonna let somebody keep me down. I’ve always been a competitor, I’ve always reset my goals, I always believed in myself, and I will find a way to get back to the top. And I’ve been able to do that somewhat successfully.”

The first reinvention of Mark Coleman came over 13 years ago, when the 1988 NCAA National wrestling champion and 1992 US Olympic Freestyle wrestling team member turned to the still growing sport of mixed martial arts. His dominance of UFCs 10 through 12 earned him two tournament titles, the first ever UFC heavyweight championship, and the nickname ‘The Hammer’. He was the man who was never going to be beaten, but in this sport, once you get that label, doom usually follows.

For Coleman, his doom was Maurice Smith, who upset him for the heavyweight crown in July of 1997. Yet in that same year, a fellow wrestler followed in Coleman’s footsteps and entered the Octagon. His name was Randy Couture. Three first round wins came next for the man who was soon dubbed ‘The Natural’, and in December of 1997, he took Smith’s title, setting up a clash of the wrestling titans for UFC 17 in May of 1998.

“I had been following Randy’s career since he was wrestling,” said Coleman. “I watched him wrestle many times, I did wrestle him in 1989 (winning the match), and I followed him throughout his career because I was coaching at Ohio State when he was wrestling at Oklahoma State. I almost had to coach against him in college, and I had been following him throughout his fight career as well. So I was getting ready for him and I was very confident that I was going to be able to beat him.”

He wouldn’t get his chance, at least not then, as Couture pulled out of the fight with a rib injury. Coleman, still wanting to fight, was taken on a rollercoaster in the weeks leading up to his bout at the Mobile Civic Center in Alabama.

“When he pulled out, it set off a chain,” recalled Coleman. “They changed opponents on me at least seven different times within the next two weeks. And I was just coming off my knee surgery as well, so I was fairly messed up in the head, to say the least, back then.”

Coleman would get knocked out by his opponent, young gun Pete Williams, at the 12:38 mark. A third straight defeat to Pedro Rizzo followed, and the Ohio State standout was left with an uncertain future as he went over to Japan in April of 1999 to compete for the PRIDE organization. But with a remarkable resilience that has since become his trademark, Coleman reinvented himself yet again in PRIDE, winning the 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix and becoming a staple of the heavyweight division until 2006, when a second defeat to Fedor Emelianenko appeared to be his MMA swan song.

In 2008, Coleman joined Couture in the UFC Hall of Fame, and at the same time he announced that he was going to return to the Octagon for one more run at glory. A fight with future heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar was scrapped due to injury, but in January of 2009 he got his chance to compete again when he was matched with Rua in a rematch of their 2006 PRIDE bout won by Coleman.

Many feared for Coleman as he took on the deadly Muay Thai striker from Brazil, but ‘The Hammer’ not only hung in there in his light heavyweight debut, he looked to be on the verge of stopping Rua on a couple of occasions if not for his depleted gas tank. And even though he lost the bout via a late stoppage, his performance earned him a second shot in the UFC, this time against Bonnar at UFC 100 last July. Not looking to repeat the sins of his first 2009 bout, Coleman relocated to Las Vegas for his training camp and got into the best shape possible, knowing that another defeat would likely end his UFC career.

“No doubt about it, there was a lot of pressure on me for the Bonnar fight, but that’s what being an athlete and a competitor is all about,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to deal with the pressure and that’s something I think I’ve been able to do pretty well over the years. I definitely knew how much was at stake against Bonnar.”

He delivered, drilling out a three round unanimous decision win that put him back on the map again. Next came the call to truly come full circle in his comeback by facing the man he was supposed to battle nearly 12 years ago. Getting that call wasn’t a complete surprise.

“I’ve been in this game long enough and I know it’s a lot about being in the right place at the right time,” he said. “Fortunately I positioned myself for something like this, but you never know when it’s gonna happen. You just have to be ready for it, and this time I was.”

When he got the fight, it meant another trek out west to Vegas to work with Shawn Tompkins and another camp away from daughters Mackenzie and Morgan. And even though they understand their dad’s absence and the importance of it, that doesn’t make it any easier on Coleman.

“It hasn’t been easy,” he said. “I’m still a father first and I miss my kids every day because I know they need me, but I’m doing this for them. They are my number one motivation in the world by far, in all areas of life, not just fighting. No doubt I still fight for myself, but I also do it for my family, and I’ve always fought for the fans. I know I’ve still got some fans out there, and I don’t want to lose for them, especially if they’ve got some cash riding on me.”

Coleman smiles, especially when discussing daughter Mackenzie’s recent trip to Vegas for a gymnastics meet where she “did awesome. She won the bars and did great in all four events.” It’s the other side of Coleman, separate from that of the ultra-competitive ‘Hammer’ who practically invented MMA’s ground and pound strategy. So maybe it is good that he gets away from Ohio, simply because it allows him to keep his edge. At this level of the game, any advantage you can take is a welcome one, and Mark Coleman is certainly still a competitor.

“That’s what it’s all about and that’s why I’m still in this sport and why I still am and have always been a competitor,” he said. “You live for these big matches. I really didn’t want to be on the undercard of the last fight. I like the main event, I like the spotlight, I like to challenge myself and see if I can rise to the occasion. That’s what I want to do this fight. I want to perform for the fans, and one way or the other I want it to be an exciting fight for them, one that they can walk away from and be happy that they were able to see it.”

And he’s more than ready to let Randy Couture know just what he missed getting back in 1998.

“I have nothing but respect for Randy Couture, and it’s not that tough at all to get up for fighting him because everything he’s got are the same things I want,” said Coleman, game face firmly back in place. “So I’d like to take a little piece of what he’s got and I’d like to take it for myself. But it’s just competition, and after the fight’s over, I’ll be ready to shake his hand, win or lose, no matter what, and I’m pretty sure he’ll be thinking the same way.”