Mark Coleman is awake at a hospital, but the former UFC heavyweight champion almost lost his life earlier this week after he saved his parents from a house fire.
Mark Coleman battered the best fighters in the UFC during his era. But against a natural disaster, he was no match for a house fire that hit his parents’ home in Fremont, Ohio.
The former UFC heavyweight champion helped his parents escape the deadly fire but after he had gone out to safety, he realized that his dog ‘Hammer’ wasn’t there. So he came back to look for him. Not only was Coleman unable to find and save his dog, but he almost was unable to save himself too.
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The Hammer passed out due to smoke inhalation and had to be airlifted to a hospital in Toledo where he was intubated and sedated. Coleman was in critical condition and battling for his life when he arrived at the medical facility but with the help of prayers, he is now awake and alert on his hospital bed.
“I’m the happiest man in the world,” Coleman said. “I swear to God, I’m so lucky, I can’t believe my parents are alive. I had to make a decision ’cause I got out of my room and went to the door and it was already horrible, I couldn’t breathe, I almost had to go outside, and I went back in and I got ’em, I can’t believe it. I got ’em, and I couldn’t find Hammer.”
Coleman was one of the pioneers of the UFC. A former amateur wrestler, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament winner and the promotion’s first undisputed heavyweight champion. He was one of the first fighters to use what is now called the ground-and-pound, earning him the nickname ‘The godfather of ground-and-pound’.
After his first stint with the UFC, he fought under the PRIDE promotion in Japan and won the 2000 PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix tournament. He returned to the United States to finish his career where it started – inside the Octagon.
Although he went 1-2 during his second tour of duty with the UFC, the former NCAA Division I wrestling champion was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at UFC 82 and will always be remembered as one of the company’s toughest fighters. Following his near-death experience, The Hammer can add the title of ‘real life hero’ to his decorated resume.