Mark Coleman | |
---|---|
Born |
Fremont, Ohio, United States |
December 20, 1964
Other names | The Hammer |
Nationality | American |
Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) |
Division |
Light Heavyweight (2009–2010) Heavyweight (1996–2006) |
Reach | 75 in (191 cm) |
Fighting out of | Columbus, Ohio |
Team | Team Hammer House |
Rank |
NCAA Division I Wrestling Olympian Freestyle Wrestling |
Years active | 1996–2010 (MMA) |
Mixed martial arts record | |
Total | 26 |
Wins | 16 |
By knockout | 4 |
By submission | 8 |
By decision | 4 |
Losses | 10 |
By knockout | 3 |
By submission | 5 |
By decision | 2 |
University |
Ohio State University Miami University |
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog |
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Representing United States | ||
Men's Freestyle wrestling | ||
Pan American Championships | ||
1990 Colorado Springs | -90 kg | |
1991 | -100 kg | |
1992 | -100 kg | |
Pan American Games | ||
1991 Havana | -100 kg | |
World Championships | ||
1991 Varna | -100 kg |
Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. Known as The Hammer, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fighting Championships 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix champion. At UFC 82 Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. At the age of retirement he was taking 150,000 USD salary per year.
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 successfully use the strategy that he coined; ground-and-pound, earning him the distinction as "The Godfather of Ground & Pound".
Coleman was born in Fremont, Ohio, U.S. in 1964. He began freestyle wrestling as a teenager, and wrestled for Miami University, in Ohio, where he was a two time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion. In his senior year, he transferred to Ohio State University and won an NCAA championship. Out of college, he was awarded a spot on the US Wrestling team, placing second (100 kg) at the 1991 FILA Wrestling World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria, and placing seventh overall in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.