When one mentions the UFC, images of greats like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva immediately come to mind.And why shouldn’t they?The men are legends, as are other well-known figures in MMA like Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.However, ma…
When one mentions the UFC, images of greats like Georges St-Pierre and Anderson Silva immediately come to mind.
And why shouldn’t they?
The men are legends, as are other well-known figures in MMA like Matt Hughes, Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.
However, many people forget that there was a generation of MMA before the current incarnation of the UFC—meaning before it was owned by Zuffa—and there were many fighters that were part of it.
While they may not hold a candle to the well-rounded fighters of today, here are the pre-Zuffa era’s best.
A decade ago, it would have been nigh to think that NFL great Herschel Walker would fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman.Why would there have been? How likely was it Coleman would still be fighting by 2011 and that Walker would embark on …
A decade ago, it would have been nigh to think that NFL great Herschel Walker would fight former UFC Heavyweight Champion Mark Coleman.
Why would there have been? How likely was it Coleman would still be fighting by 2011 and that Walker would embark on a journey into MMA when he was 48 years old?
Yet, these seemingly impossible events have happened, and here we are in May 2011 where there is a significant amount of buzz around a potential fight between Herschel Walker and Mark Coleman.
Coleman even told MMAjunkie.com that “an opportunity to fight Herschel Walker would be something that [he] would drop everything [for] and try to train and prepare for him.”
Despite Coleman’s desire to meet the former football player in the cage, there are several reasons that this fight should not take place.
UFC Hall Of Famer Mark Coleman is well aware of his capabilities at 46 years old and has strongly considered retirement.However, there is one bout Coleman would be willing to compete in before he calls it a career. “An opportunity to fight He…
UFC Hall Of Famer Mark Coleman is well aware of his capabilities at 46 years old and has strongly considered retirement.
However, there is one bout Coleman would be willing to compete in before he calls it a career.
“An opportunity to fight Herschel Walker would be something that I would drop everything [for] and try to train and prepare for him,” Coleman recently told MMAJunkie.com.
A bout against an opponent who is around the same age as Coleman wouldn’t exactly excite fans to watch or pay the price of admission to see. Fans saw Coleman already get battered and beaten up by another middle-aged veteran in Randy Couture at UFC 109, and Coleman said he hasn’t felt the desire to train and prepare since then.
However a bout with the former NFL star would motivate Coleman to get back in the gym and train accordingly, at this point it is only a rumour, and “The Hammer” tries not to think too much about it.
Coleman has been comfortable with his post-fight career, as he recently took a position at Ultimate Brand Management. The licensing company, which owns multiple MMA-related companies, allows Coleman to travel and make appearances and sign autographs.
It is not a role most fans would imagine Coleman in, but it helps him remain financially comfortable and provides him with a different outlook on life, which he said he envisioned completely different.
“You think you can fight forever. I thought I could fight forever. And really, it comes to an end quick,” he said.
And although he can’t claim any insurance from the new accident-insurance policy the UFC recently announced, Coleman is fortunate enough to afford his own health insurance and he believes it will benefit fighters competing in the organization.
“Guys that can afford it are lucky. But a lot of guys can’t afford it. It’s not a regular job here. This is ultimate fighting. You’re doing multiple high-risk training sessions, and the potential for injury is there. As a former fighter, I think it’s great,” he said.
(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)
– Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)
– Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)
– Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)
– Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)
– This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)
– Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)
– Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)
(The UFC Fighter Summit has a storybook ending. Congrats, Janitor.)
Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere. E-mail [email protected] for details on how your site can join the MMA Link Club…
– BJ Penn and Jake Shields Want to Fight Each Other (LowKick)
– Shane Carwin’s Cardio Under Microscope at UFC 131 (NBC Sports MMA)
– Rashad Evans Explains His Nightclub Altercation With Jon Jones; Insists ‘Bones’ Ducked Him (MMA Mania)
– Mac Danzig Out of Next Month’s Anticipated Clash With Donald Cerrone, Vagner Rocha to Replace (Five Ounces of Pain)
– Matt Mitrione: If Ortiz Is Still Upset After Confrontation, ‘Then We Can Scrap’ (MMA Fighting)
– Your Favorite Hooters Girl to Serve Ring Cards at ‘UFC 132: Cruz vs. Faber II’ (5thRound)
– This Will Be the Strangest Seven-Second Knockout You Will See This Year (MiddleEasy)
– Mark Coleman ‘Would Drop Everything’ To Fight Herschel Walker (MMA Convert)
– Video: Hector Lombard Gets Pissed at Reporter After Bellator 44 (TheFightNerd)
Filed under: UFC, FanHouse ExclusiveWhen Randy Couture said his goodbyes and walked out of the cage for what he would have us believe is the last time in his pro fighting career, Mark Coleman stood there with the 55,000 fans in the Rogers Centre, and j…
When Randy Couture said his goodbyes and walked out of the cage for what he would have us believe is the last time in his pro fighting career, Mark Coleman stood there with the 55,000 fans in the Rogers Centre, and just like them he felt a range of emotions swirling inside him.
“I felt a lot of different things,” Coleman said. “Randy’s somebody who I don’t have a bad word to say about, who helped me a lot in my career, who opened his gym to me. I don’t know if you want to use the word hero, but yeah, he was sort of a personal hero of mine.”
He was also a contemporary of Coleman’s from the early days of MMA, and a fellow UFC hall of famer. And now here he was, just a little over a year removed from a win over Coleman at UFC 109, and he was calling it quits. When you’re a 46-year-old pro fighting legend watching one of your peers hang up the gloves, it’s the kind of thing that makes you think.
Filed under: UFCDan Severn has always been a believer in setting goals for himself. Even now the 52-year-old UFC Hall of Famer writes down in his daily planner what he wants to accomplish by the end of each year, then checks that list almost every day …
Dan Severn has always been a believer in setting goals for himself. Even now the 52-year-old UFC Hall of Famer writes down in his daily planner what he wants to accomplish by the end of each year, then checks that list almost every day to see if he’s on the right track.
But with an official record of 99-16-7 and a career that spans almost the entire history of MMA in North America, even Severn is running out of goals in the sport. There are only a few he’d still like to accomplish before he retires at the end of 2012, and the clock is running out.
For starters, he’d like to get to 100 wins. Since he already has three wins this year and two more fights scheduled before the end of May, that one seems perfectly feasible. But it’s who he’d like to eventually beat that may prove more problematic.
When 