Las Vegas, NV — UFC Hall of Famer, inaugural heavyweight champ, and multi-time tournament winner (not to mention PRIDE openweight tournament winner) Mark Coleman was on hand at UFC 300.
You probably know why by now. After rescuing his parents from a house fire a month ago and battling smoke inhalation, Coleman, 59, was the sentimental favorite to award the BMF title on Saturday night. Both Max Holloway and Justin Gaethje asked for it, and the UFC delivered.
Coleman addressed the media backstage early Saturday evening, starting off by saying that he was “blessed to be here.”
“I’m healthy, and health is wealth,” Coleman added. “And I have that.”
“I’m very fortunate,” added Coleman, who believes that “God was with me about a month ago, and he got me through the scariest night of my life. We came through with my mom and dad still alive. I didn’t quite have enough in me to get my dog Hammer, but he’ll always be with me the rest of my life. He meant the world to me, my first dog ever.”
It was trying to save Hammer that saw Coleman fall to smoke inhalation, later rescued himself by the fire crew. But Hammer saved the family, with his barking what woke Coleman up on the fateful night. “Until you have a dog, you don’t get it. And I didn’t get it until I got one. I have three daughters, and Hammer was my son. He woke me, and he’s a hero.”
At UFC 300, it was Holloway coming away with the BMF title, in what was quite literally a legendary performance. There was talk all week long of having a women’s BMF title, a concept Coleman is a fan of.
“We definitely need a [women’s] BMF, and they’ll let themselves be known who it is,” said Coleman. When asked about who he would see fighting for that belt, he polled reporters, who came back with Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
“If she came out of retirement, she’d be the perfect BMF to start it off. Who wants Joanna? She’d come out of retirement I’d bet,” exclaimed Coleman.
Watch the full UFC 300 press conference appearance by Mark Coleman above.
