Mark “the hammer” Coleman > MMA Fighting
Everything happened so fast. My win occurred fast and what happened afterwards occurred fast.” Mark Coleman had seven weeks to prepare for his fight with Brazilian world middleweight champion Rua instead
Mark Coleman
of his normal six months. Mark weighed in at a diced and shredded 223-pounds, his lightest bodyweight ever as a mixed martial artist. Mark traveled to Japan to battle the fast rising Brazilian in the biggest mixed martial arts format on the planet: The Pride Tournament.
Coleman was a huge underdog heading into this battle. Rua was on his way up and Coleman, the conventional wisdom went, was (at age 41) on his way down. The pundit and prognosticators were unanimous in their predictions: Rua would roll through Coleman on his way to a heavyweight title shot. Someone forgot to tell The Hammer. The fighters were introduced to the packed crowd, the referee signaled for the fighters to begin and Mark related what happened next…”We came together in the center of the ring; I threw a single punch and Rua threw one high kick at my head. I threw a straight right hand that missed and suddenly we’re chest-to-chest. I took him to the ground. In hindsight I should have suplexed him over my head and onto his head. Instead we went to the mat and he rolled into a triangle choke attempt. I overpowered him.
He was lying on his back. I picked him up into the air and power-slammed him to the mat. As I slammed him to the mat, he put an arm back to break his fall and hurt his elbow. All his bodyweight and my bodyweight came crashing down on the mat and onto his extended arm. He recovered and tried to clamp on a knee-bar submission. I began to roll - which is the countermove and he tried to switch off into throwing an ankle lock. I kept my calm and kept rolling. He was unable to clamp down on either the knee or the ankle. This is where my newfound speed came into play - I broke free and we both stood up.” “Before he could react I hit him with a low takedown. My ankle-pick crossed his legs and I took him down to the mat with great authority. He put his arm back a second time to break his fall and paid the price. His elbow dislocated completely and broke the bone. I was unaware of this as I was on top of him and scrambling to obtain a better position. The referee saw the devastating arm injury and jumped in and stopped the fight. He was in pain and unable to move.
The Shoto Boxing Organization, of which Rua is a member, for some reason took the loss hard. All of a sudden Rua’s brother was is in my face. I’d just been declared the winner and suddenly his brother was threatening me. I assumed a fight position and backed him down. That confrontation created more tension and suddenly world champion (and Shoto Box founder) Vandela Silva comes flying out of the audience. He jumps over the top rope and attacks me - I fought back and the melee was on. Phil Barone, The New York Badass, is my training partner. He was in my corner and he immediately jumped into the ring to assist me. I knocked Silva to the mat and now Rua’s brother is fighting Phil and the Rua’s trainer jumped into the fight and now we have five guys duking it out in the ring. The referees are trying to stop the brawl and security is scrambling to jump into the ring and separate us. It was pure pandemonium. It ended with my foot on a Silva’s throat.
I pulled up on the ropes like a pro wrestler. I got sucker punched but it didn’t bother me - their little punches were like mosquito bites. Afterwards Silva “called me out” - challenged me to a fight. “Sure.” I said, “Sounds like a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other better.” I have tentatively agreed to fight Silva on May 5th in the first round of the Pride Grand Prix. This will be a sixteen man tournament and will be spread out over six months. The winner will be crowned the greatest mixed martial arts fighter in the world. I have nine weeks to prepare. This was a short fight and I didn’t get hurt so I can springboard off the great condition I’m in currently. I will stay focused on the Silva fight. I’ve been talking with John (Parrillo) and based on my talks with him I’m thinking that perhaps I carb-depleted myself a bit too much prior to the Rua fight. John thinks I can come in perhaps 10-pounds heavier while still retaining my degree of condition, body fat percentile, speed and agility. The additional power that adding another 10-pounds of pure muscle will bring will help tremendously. I might have been a bit light for this fight. The heavyweights in the upcoming Pride Grand Prix will be weighing 240-260 pounds and I don’t want to give up 20 to 40 pounds to these guys. If I can come in at say 230-pounds, I should be just as quick and a lot more powerful. I will keep the same training strategy but hit everything harder.
I’m currently in world class shape and I need to take this world class shape to the next level. When I say world class shape I’m not saying that in an egotistical sense; I saying that when I obtain the degree of condition I obtained for the Rua fight I am able to battle the best fighters in the world on an equal footing: world class shape. By maintaining what I’ve achieved and kicking things up to the next level of training intensity, I can improve even further. I’ll break my training down and build upon the foundation I’ve established in the past seven weeks.
Over the next nine weeks I hope to break through to another level of athletic proficiency. I’ll work a lot harder. I don’t do as much wrestling and sparring as I used to do - I can’t - so now I challenge myself on the machines…the elliptical trainer, the Stairmaster, the treadmill, the bike, running…stuff that won’t hurt me, cut me, break my shoulder or jeopardize the upcoming fight. I’m always one injury away from being in trouble. John Parrillo has gotten me on the right nutritional page: I trust John and I trust his advice.
Other members of the Hammer House:Charter member Kevin Randallman is an incredible fighter and Phil
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Barone is a terrific training partner. I need to hang out with guys like Kevin and Phil. Wes Sims is another Hammer House fighter. Wes “The Project” Sims fought Daniel Gracie at the Arnold Classic a few weeks back in front of a packed house of 10,000 people. He battled Gracie to a draw but we’re trying to get the decision reversed on account of illegal knee blows to the head that Gracie threw.
The Hammer House beat Team Gracie at the Arnold Classic MMA competition; we won four matches and the Gracie’s won two. We now have a rivalry with the Shoto Box and this promises to be a serious rivalry for years to come. This type of combative tension keeps the competitive juices flowing. The Hammer House team is very controversial. Kevin “Monsterman” Randallman, Phil Barone, Wes Sims and Brandon Lee Hinkle…we’re loved by our fans and hated by our opponents all at the same time. Winning doesn’t take care of everything but it takes care of about 90%. I try not to sweat the small stuff as I get older. It’s easier to deal with the small stuff after a win.”
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