jcollingsworth
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Making The List: Mark Coleman
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
For this week’s Making the List I have decided to have some fun. There are so many Buckeyes in a host of sports that have been great in the sport of which they participated that are deserving of recognition. Some of these great athletes slide from the notice they justifiably have earned behind some of the “bigger” names from the University in the Revenue Sports….
…. One of those names is wrestler Mark Coleman.
Mark was born in Fremont, Ohio back in the turbulent year of 1964. He grew up – in his own words: “a wiry kid” that loved wrestling. In the years that followed, in his pursuit, of the sport that he loved he would find himself at Miami University in Ohio where he would become a two-time Mid-American Conference Champion. In his Senior Year (1988) he would transfer to The Ohio State University where he would win the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Division I Championship in the 190lbs Class.
His list of early accomplishments did not waver from those huge titles. In 1990 at the Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling in the 90kg he came in First Place. He would repeat in the 1991 Pan American Championship (First) but in the 100kg. Also in 1991 at the U.S.A. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships he would be the number One overall winner there as well (100kg). At the 1991 FILA World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in the 100kg he’d be the runner-up. And to top it all off – in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Spain in the 100kg he would be 7th overall – in the World.
Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments in commanding fashion, including a win over the then 8-time Champion Don Frye at UFC 10 in 1996. He would become the first UFC Heavyweight Champion after submitting UFC Superfight Champion Dan Severn via ‘neck crank’ submission at UFC 12.
In his Title Defense he would coin the phrase ‘ground-and-pound’ which would become routine phrasing in the new and brutal sport. He would lose that Title Defense in UFC 14 to kick-boxer Maurice Smith. The loss was considered one of the biggest upsets in the UFC history at the time – primarily because of the way Coleman had dominated his opponents in all of his previous battles.
His nick-name would be ‘The Hammer’. He would earn this name by his method of fighting in which he would dominate relentlessly against his opposition, never yielding until they dropped or surrendered.
Between 1999 through 2006 ‘The Hammer’ took his fighting skills and act to Japan in the league known there as ‘Pride Fighting Championships’. Coleman would win the Championship of the Pride 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix with a defeat over Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn. ‘The Hammer’ was officially back.
He would return to the UFC in 2008 and last until 2010 before eventually retiring. Mark Coleman ‘The Hammer’ is a inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame.
There isn’t any question if Mark Coleman is deserving of our notice for Making the List, his dominance in wrestling in the year that he wrestled for The Ohio State University clearly places him automatically into that well-earned spot. When great wrestlers from our wondrous space in this universe are mentioned – how many of us recall Mark? Without any assumptions against the rest of you – I will confess that I did not. But Mark was indeed a great wrestler for The Ohio State University. And you know what is great here too? There was a Buckeye that ruled the UFC at a spell and wore their Heavyweight Championship belt. You have to agree – that’s cool, huh?
The post Making The List: Mark Coleman appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
jcollingsworth via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
For this week’s Making the List I have decided to have some fun. There are so many Buckeyes in a host of sports that have been great in the sport of which they participated that are deserving of recognition. Some of these great athletes slide from the notice they justifiably have earned behind some of the “bigger” names from the University in the Revenue Sports….
…. One of those names is wrestler Mark Coleman.
Mark was born in Fremont, Ohio back in the turbulent year of 1964. He grew up – in his own words: “a wiry kid” that loved wrestling. In the years that followed, in his pursuit, of the sport that he loved he would find himself at Miami University in Ohio where he would become a two-time Mid-American Conference Champion. In his Senior Year (1988) he would transfer to The Ohio State University where he would win the Big Ten Championship and the NCAA Division I Championship in the 190lbs Class.
His list of early accomplishments did not waver from those huge titles. In 1990 at the Pan American Championships Freestyle Wrestling in the 90kg he came in First Place. He would repeat in the 1991 Pan American Championship (First) but in the 100kg. Also in 1991 at the U.S.A. National Freestyle Wrestling Championships he would be the number One overall winner there as well (100kg). At the 1991 FILA World Freestyle Wrestling Championships in the 100kg he’d be the runner-up. And to top it all off – in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona Spain in the 100kg he would be 7th overall – in the World.
Following his amateur career, Coleman made the transition to the then-new sport of mixed martial arts, winning his first two tournaments in commanding fashion, including a win over the then 8-time Champion Don Frye at UFC 10 in 1996. He would become the first UFC Heavyweight Champion after submitting UFC Superfight Champion Dan Severn via ‘neck crank’ submission at UFC 12.
In his Title Defense he would coin the phrase ‘ground-and-pound’ which would become routine phrasing in the new and brutal sport. He would lose that Title Defense in UFC 14 to kick-boxer Maurice Smith. The loss was considered one of the biggest upsets in the UFC history at the time – primarily because of the way Coleman had dominated his opponents in all of his previous battles.
His nick-name would be ‘The Hammer’. He would earn this name by his method of fighting in which he would dominate relentlessly against his opposition, never yielding until they dropped or surrendered.
Between 1999 through 2006 ‘The Hammer’ took his fighting skills and act to Japan in the league known there as ‘Pride Fighting Championships’. Coleman would win the Championship of the Pride 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix with a defeat over Masaaki Satake, Akira Shoji, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Igor Vovchanchyn. ‘The Hammer’ was officially back.
He would return to the UFC in 2008 and last until 2010 before eventually retiring. Mark Coleman ‘The Hammer’ is a inductee of the UFC Hall of Fame.
There isn’t any question if Mark Coleman is deserving of our notice for Making the List, his dominance in wrestling in the year that he wrestled for The Ohio State University clearly places him automatically into that well-earned spot. When great wrestlers from our wondrous space in this universe are mentioned – how many of us recall Mark? Without any assumptions against the rest of you – I will confess that I did not. But Mark was indeed a great wrestler for The Ohio State University. And you know what is great here too? There was a Buckeye that ruled the UFC at a spell and wore their Heavyweight Championship belt. You have to agree – that’s cool, huh?
The post Making The List: Mark Coleman appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...