UFC icon Mark Coleman was reportedly airlifted to hospital on March 12, after bravely saving his mom and dad from a house fire just seconds before the roof of their home collapsed. Coleman, who is 59 years old, is said to be in critical condition.
The celebrated athlete, who is now retired from MMA, was an amateur and professional wrestler and is widely regarded for illustrating that wrestling could be a successful style in mixed martial arts after popularizing the “ground-and-pound” strategy.
According to reports the Olympian is now breathing on his own after being intubated in a Hospital in Fremont, OH, close to where he was born, and is fighting for his life. Coleman was with his parents in a property in Toledo when the inferno broke out.
Morgan Coleman/TMZ
Mark Coleman is now in the biggest fight of his life
Jonathan Snowden of the MMA Encyclopaedia news source states that it was Coleman’s dog that raised the alarm by barking and waking up the first ever UFC Heavyweight Champion. The MMA star was then able to react quickly, bravely pulling his mom and dad out of the blaze just seconds before the entire roof fell in. While Coleman is thought to have returned to the property to rescue his dog, the beloved pet didn’t make it out.
This is what's left of the house Mark Coleman and his family were in last night.
Mark's dog Hammer woke him up to a house in flames. He saved both his parents and is fighting for his life. pic.twitter.com/hicYhv7SDm
— Jonathan Snowden (@JESnowden) March 12, 2024
Coleman, who retired from the UFC in 2010, also appeared for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling between 2000-2002. As an amateur wrestler he was a world champion in the Pan America Games and was an NCAA Division I Champion for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He has two daughters from a previous marriage and told Areial Helwani in a 2021 interview that he’d successfully become sober after a drinking problem forced him into rehab.Coleman, who is now in critical condition due to smoke inhalation is currently in the biggest fight of his life. M&F prays for a fast recovery.
