UFC legend Mark Coleman wasted no time getting back into the gym days after being in a hospital bed in critical condition.
On March 12, the 59-year-old MMA pioneer rescued both his parents from a house fire in Ohio. After securing his mother and father, Coleman went back to rescue his dog, Hammer, who unfortunately did not survive the fire. Coleman was taken to hospital later as fans and family worried for his life.
A day after being released on March 18, Coleman returned to his mentoring duties at Immortal Martial Arts. UFC veteran Matt Brown posted a video proclaiming Coleman’s return to the gym.
‘So what guys? The man is back,” Brown said. “The hammer is back.”
‘I never left. Well, wait a minute, Coleman said with a laugh as he raised his arms.
UFC legend Mark Coleman went back to the gym days after being in critical condition
Coleman rescued his parents from a house fire in Ohio and tried to save his dog Hammer
According to Jonathan Snowden from MMA encyclopedia, Coleman’s dog woke him to a burning house. Coleman’s rescue of his parents also came seconds before the roof collapsed from the fire.
Two days after the fire, Coleman woke up responsively saying, ‘I’m the luckiest man in the world,’ as he hugged his family.
“I’m so grateful to be here today,” Coleman said in a video after leaving the hospital. ‘I am so blessed. I am one of the luckiest men in the world. I can’t thank you all enough. I’m just so grateful.’
‘My lungs are sore. My eyes are burned but I’m very much alive and well,” he captioned the clip on Instagram. “I feel so blessed that it’s in the hands of my higher powers. He wants me to move forward today , and I am. I am overwhelmed by the love and support I have received, if I had one wish it would be that I could meet each and every one of you to give you a big hug and personal thank you .’
Coleman’s dog, which alerted him to the fire, unfortunately did not survive the fire
A pioneer in the sport, Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008
The Hammer made his MMA debut in 1996 by winning the UFC 10 tournament. Later that year, he won UFC 11 to secure back-to-back tournament wins. Coleman also finished all five opponents throughout his run with wins over Don Frye and Gary Goodridge.
At UFC 12, Coleman submitted Dan Severn with a scarf to become the first UFC heavyweight champion.
Coleman fought in Pride from 1999 until the Japanese promotion was bought out by Zuffa, the UFC’s parent company, in 2007. He fought the likes of Fedor Emelianenko, Mirko Crop Cop and Randy Couture before retiring in 2010 with a 16-10 record.
Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Pioneer Wing in 2008 and Fight Wing in 2016 for his UFC 17 bout against Pete Williams.
