Mark Coleman On Being Stubborn, PRIDE, New Training Techniques, and Other "High-Tech Sh!t"

In this video, Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (16-9) sits down with the inimitable Steve Cofield of Yahoo Sports' MMA Blog Cagewriter to discuss all things currently relevant to the 45-year-old wrestler and UFC hall-of-fame'er's career. Coleman is still riding the wave of his UFC 100 victory over Stephan Bonnar (11-6) which is about to take him straight into a main event slot against Randy "The Natural" Couture (17-10) at UFC 109: Relentless.

Extended Preview for UFC 109: Couture vs. Coleman

When Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman was announced as the main event for UFC 109, a lot of MMA fans had some snide comments to share about "two old men"-this and "protecting Randy"-that. As this fight draws closer, though, it seems like a lot of people are starting to become believers.

As for the criticisms:

If competing successfully at the highest level of 21st century MMA when you're well into your mid-forties is some sort of joke, rather than being truly awe inspiring, can somebody please explain the punchline-- because I don't get it.

Then there's the notion that the UFC is pitching Couture a softball. Well, that's patently ludicrous for more reasons than one. Suffice it to say that, following the controversial Vera win, Randy still has plenty left to prove before he can be considered a viable contender at light-heavyweight. On top of that, Mark Coleman is far from a gimme opponent for anyone in the division. I admit I have joked a bit in the past about how badly he gassed against Mauricio Rua, but don't forget that "Shogun" is an amazing fighter who just took the LHW champ, Lyoto Machida, to a decision that many felt went the wrong way. Since then, Coleman won a decisive victory over one of Couture's regular training partners, Stephan Bonnar. So it's not like it has been years since "The Hammer" last tasted victory, either.

At the end of the day, critics will say what they want, but most of them will be glued to the screen when these two titans of MMA history clash on February 6th.

Couture vs. Coleman Tentatively Set For UFC 109

In what would be the first UFC match ever staged between two members of the Hall-of-Fame, Randy "The Natural" Couture (17-10) has been tentatively scheduled to fight Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (16-9) at UFC 109 (Feb. 6th, 2010).

This fight would also feature the highest ever combined age of two fighters inside the octagon at roughly 91.5 years. Besides the obvious old-man jokes that can and will be made, this fight doesn't make a lot of sense from a rankings standpoint. Sure, both fighters are coming of wins, but Couture's victory over Brandon Vera (11-4) should have put him higher on the ladder than a victory over Stephan Bonnar (11-6) put Coleman. That said, I understand the rationale behind this fight. Randy's days as a draw are numbered and the UFC wants to get as many of their five remaining contracted fights out of him as they can. That explains both why this will be Couture's third fight in just over five months and why he's been given what appears on paper to be a very beatable opponent in Coleman. As will be the case for the duration of this contract: if Randy wins then the retirement tour will continue at a frenzied pace, but, if he loses, his victory lap could be cut short. So the UFC figures there's built-in drama no matter who the opponent is. One drawback to this match up is that a victory over Coleman wouldn't be enough to justify giving Randy a title shot, which is something the UFC is almost certainly angling for.

That said, "The Hammer" didn't make it into the UFC's Hall of Fame for nothing and, given the fact that their wrestling backgrounds should cancel each other out, this fight does have the potential to be a drag-'em-out slugfest. It's also comforting to know that this fight isn't being targeted as a main event-- UFC 109 is set to be headlined by a middleweight title fight between Anderson Silva (25-4) and Vitor Belfort (19-8).