Bloody Elbow: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
Around SBN: Cal RB Jahvid Best Seriously Injured, Carted Off Field

UFC 100 Preview: Stephan Bonnar Seeks Big Win Over UFC Legend Mark Coleman

It isn't too often in sports that we see athletes perform well past the generally accepted retirement age. Baseball players like Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson have proven to be absolute machines at seemingly impossibly advanced ages. If we focus on the sport of MMA, most fans immediately point at Randy "The Natural" Couture as the epitome of a fighter who has performed admirably past his prime and continues to be effective in the Octagon.

Mark Coleman plans to try to show the world on Saturday night that he is also capable of matching Randy Couture's longevity. Although the Father of "Ground n' Pound" hasn't been thrust into the spotlight like Couture had been with an immediate title shot in his return, he did manage to land a fight with former PRIDE GP champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in his return to the UFC. The outcome and his own performance didn't garner a lot of confidence that Coleman would be able to continue fighting for much longer.

The battle between the two former PRIDE fighters at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland was considered a huge bust by almost every fan watching the matchup, with the exception of the UFC brass who felt it earned "Fight of the Night" honors. Most fans believed the "Shogun" Rua of the past would come out and walk over the older Mark Coleman, but Rua's conditioning was appalling along with Coleman's own terrible gas tank. Coleman was able to actually hold Rua down during some moments of the fight, but it was likely due to the fact that Rua was out of breath.

The fight proved to be a huge indicator that both Coleman and Rua were both neglectful in their training. Rua landed an uppercut in the midst of a combination in the third round to end the fight, but the consensus opinion of fans and writers was that the fight was much more of a discouragement to fans believing Rua was on the right track back to being dominant.

Rua moved on to defeat Chuck Liddell in spectacular fashion, and he'll now face Lyoto Machida in a title matchup at UFC 104. Coleman hasn't fought since the encounter, but the UFC will give the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 runner-up Stephan Bonnar the chance to pull off a huge win against a more recognizable name in Coleman.

This will be a matchup in which Coleman will likely try to prove that his one-dimensional style can still win fights. Bonnar's skillset is pretty well-rounded. He has trained in Muay Thai, boxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu and even Tae Kwon Do. He'll obviously have the edge with a much broader skill set than Coleman, but Coleman's powerful wrestling could overwhelm Bonnar.

Bonnar should have the overall edge in this fight, and if Coleman plans on coming out striking -- I'd be even more inclined to pick Bonnar. I'm not convinced that Coleman has improved his striking since taking a beating from Rua, and Bonnar should be able to work Coleman over in multiple ways. Bonnar will need to worry about having to work off his back for most of the fight though, otherwise he may lose via a "lay n' pray" decision.

Ultimately, this will be either a solid win for Stephan Bonnar who hasn't had the same success that Forrest Griffin has had since the inaugural Ultimate Fighter show, or it'll confirm that Mark Coleman at least has what it takes to defeat standard middle-of-the-pack talent in the UFC's light heavyweight division. The fight doesn't hold much significance because neither fighter has shown the ability to break into the upper-echelon of the division, but I think most fight fans would like to see Bonnar continue to stay in the mix of the division over an aging Coleman.

photos via ufc.com

Check out our UFC 100 coverage

Star-divide

Mark 'The Antidote' Coleman training for UFC 100:

Poll
Who will win?
Mark Coleman
288 votes
Stephan Bonnar
870 votes

1158 votes | Poll has closed

The FanPosts are solely the subjective opinions of Bloody Elbow readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Bloody Elbow editors or staff.

1 recs  |  Comment 19 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

Rec'd for saying it
The battle between the two former PRIDE fighters at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland was considered a huge bust by almost every fan watching the matchup, with the exception of the UFC brass who felt it earned “Fight of the Night” honors.

A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who

by thetakeover on Jul 8, 2009 12:11 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I thought it was a moderately enjoyable fight, barring the part where Shogun regained some energy in the omoplata for over a minute. Obviously both guys were pretty gassed but for the most part it was a good fight.

I have Coleman winning this by decision. I don’t think there’s any way that he’ll threaten Bonnar in terms of KO or submission but he will definitely get Bonnar to the ground in the first two rounds. Here’s to hoping he has the gas tank to survive round 3.

by Ahhhoki on Jul 8, 2009 12:37 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I can see the fight going this way, but I still question Coleman’s gas tank. He could gas himself out by doing that.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 8, 2009 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

what no mention of Bernard Hopkins? he’s a great example of a fighter still fighting at a high level despite his age.

by TLAoutlaw on Jul 8, 2009 12:39 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

This is true, also… RAY MERCER!!! lol

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 8, 2009 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

[Coleman] claims his stand-up game could give Machida problems

This was from a fake interview by one of the UG’s recent trolls.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Jul 8, 2009 1:42 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

What is it about those fuckers that makes their stories so pick uppable?

Coleman by decision – he almost beat Rua, guys.

by subo on Jul 8, 2009 1:50 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

They created fake blogs to quote from, and most people don’t actually click the links to check the veracity of what they are saying.

A man should never waste an opportunity to keep his mouth shut.

by iiowyn on Jul 8, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Coleman has never had a gas tank. No chance he found one at his age. By round two he will be target practice for Bonnar. Coleman has alwaysbeen dead meat when he gases. Look for a highlight reel KO by Bonnar in round 2.

by MusicCityBeatdown on Jul 8, 2009 1:56 PM EDT reply actions   1 recs

/\THIS

A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who

by thetakeover on Jul 8, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Coleman looked tired and slow in this video. This was by no means an intimidating highlight reel. None the less, I’m going with the hammeh for this one. Not because I see any way of him winning, other than bonnar breaking his hands on colemans head butt ready forehead… instead because he’s the clear underdogs.

One with the underdogs by terror should be his entrance theme.

by p0wn on Jul 8, 2009 2:03 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

I felt the same way. Slow and methodical is a better way to put it. No gas tank Randleman isn’t a great training partner either.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 8, 2009 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Oh and he does cardio with Phil Baroni.

At least he’s getting a full fucking camp this time.

by subo on Jul 8, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Oddly enough, Baroni’s tank was actually improved, but the added weight of Coleman is only going to make it more of a task.

Follow me on Twitter @lelandroling
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein

by Leland Roling on Jul 8, 2009 2:36 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Those two have been training together for what…15 years now? Time have been harsher with randleman, he could wrestle non stop for 3 full rounds , now they probably gas together.

by spectaa on Jul 8, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

I think this will be a close fight with Coleman likely picking up the first few rounds by scoring takedowns. Howeever I think Bonnar will win in the third via KO due to coleman gasout!

by Bandaka on Jul 8, 2009 2:06 PM EDT reply actions   1 recs

I see it the same way

A wise man told me don't argue with fools
Cause people from a distance can't tell who is who

by thetakeover on Jul 8, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions   0 recs

Bonnar doesn’t really have any KO power and if you look at Coleman’s record, His losses by Tko aren’t really bad losses considering the way they happened and who finished him. Bonnar has never done well against wrestlers or people who are stronger than him cardio problems or not Stephan has gassed in nearly every fight of his also that didn’t end in the first round. Coleman weighs 230ish by fight time and Stephan will be working off his back trying to get out from under that for 2 rounds maybe 3 so I expect him to gas just as well.

by tremblay6 on Jul 8, 2009 3:07 PM EDT reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

"All men are frauds. The only difference between them is that some admit it. I myself deny it." -- H.L. Mencken
Start posting on Bloody Elbow »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Small
CBS/Strikeforce Broadcast Quality Unacceptable
Mikeeaston_small
A Conundrum About Fedor
Nav-logo-hover_small
Dan Henderson: Enormous Benefit To Strikeforce Has Parallels in World of Wrestling
Mma_spot_logo-1_small
Add Gerald Harris To The List Of Veterans Applying For TUF
Nav-logo-hover_small
Dan Henderson: Suddenly in the driver's seat in UFC negotiations

Recent FanPosts

Me_small
Strikeforce and Fedor come off looking good on CBS
Small
Early numbers for Strikeforce on CBS.
Small
In Praise Of Jake Sheilds
Small
Omnisport Offering Live Online Stream of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Rogers
Small
Swick Laughs Hughes Off, "It Wouldn't Even be a Fight"
Small
Thought I had re Strikeforce's marketing of Fedor:
Weo_animation2_small
Fedor Emelianenko vs Brett Rogers Will Be for the WAMMA Heavyweight Belt
Tailings_small
Dustin Hazelett Interview: ACL is good, Ready for Karo

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

MMA Rankings

USA Today / SB Nation Consensus MMA Rankings