Mark Coleman Details His Journey From Failed Olympian To UFC Legend

Mark Coleman is in a reflective mood amid the current Olympic games.

‘The Godfather of Ground and Pound’ spoke about his failed bid to become an Olympic champion at the 1992 games in Barcelona.

“I choked,” Coleman admitted. “I lost to two guys I’d beaten a year earlier. And I fell, I went way down. I lost interest for the first time in my life.

“All I ever did was play sports and compete. Football, wrestling, baseball. I wanted to be the best athlete in the world, so when I lost it threw me for a big loop. I started drinking hard, I started drinking heavy, partying, experimenting with drugs.”

It wasn’t long before a new sport reignited Coleman’s competitive drive.

In November 1993, UFC 1 took place in Denver. Coleman watched as eight fighters with differing martial arts training squared off in a one-night tournament with no weight classes and very few rules – Coleman immediately became obsessed with the sport.

“I was hooked, the second the first fight started,” Coleman said. “I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I thought it had to be fake. I just couldn’t believe it.

“I hoped it was real, though, because if it was, I knew immediately that this is what I’m going to do. And I’m going to be the champion, I just knew.”

A few years later and Coleman was competing in the sport. ‘The Hammer’ eased to victory at UFC 10 beating Moti Horenstein, Gary Goodridge and UFC 8 winner, Don Frye on route.

After a long and successful career in the sport, Coleman retired from MMA in 2010. The 56-year-old picked up several high-profile wins after his initial success, beating the likes of Stephan Bonnar, ‘Shogun’ Rua and Dan Severn.

In 2015, Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame and he couldn’t be prouder.

“I’m proud,” Coleman said “I’m very, very proud to have been there at the beginning of this and I wanted to hold on as long as I could.

“I was a pioneer, but at the same time, I made it all the way to UFC 109, so I made it far enough that I wasn’t just there at the beginning, but the middle, too.”