Although he's been out of competition for nearly 27 months and will drop a weight class in his first fight back since the layoff, Mark Coleman is confident his move from heavyweight to light heavyweight won't be an issue during next week's rematch with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.
Coleman discussed the Jan. 17 fight and his progress in dropping weight while a guest on Tuesday's edition of TAGG Radio (
www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (
www.mmajunkie.com).
"The weight came off a lot easier than anticipated," Coleman said. "I don't see it being a problem making weight, so I'm happy about that. I'm healthy and just need to get through a few more practices, and I'll be ready to go."
Coleman said a new diet helped him easily drop the weight.
He currently weighs 220 pounds – "or a little less," he said – and expects no problems once he arrives at The 02 in Dublin, Ireland, next week.
"Fifteen pounds (to cut) will be no problem," Coleman said. "The diet has been the key to it."
Coleman, a former NCAA Division I national wrestling champion at Ohio State, was inducted into the UFC Fall of Fame last year during the UFC 82 event in Columbus. While the induction was no surprise, UFC President Dana White shocked many fans when he announced that the now-44-year-old fighter had also signed a new deal with the organization and would fight former WWE superstar and UFC heavyweight Brock Lesnar.
The bout never came to fruition (Coleman suffered a knee injury), and instead of delaying the fight, the UFC later announced that Coleman would instead fight Rua, whom he beat at a 2006 PRIDE event.
The fight required a drop in weight class, which Coleman said he's long wanted. Coleman, the UFC's first-ever heavyweight champion, eventually left the organization in 1999. After launching his UFC career with six consecutive victories, he went 0-3 in his final three. He said the only subsequent offers came in the heavyweight class.
"I've been wanting to cut to 205 for years now," Coleman said. "It's just the offers from PRIDE were all at heavyweight, so I had to go where the offers were at. But I've been wanting to cut down to 205 for years. My frame is much better suited for 205. These guys (heavyweight fighters) are so big now – so much stronger – that I've always said size matters."
"It'll give me a much better chance at winning down here. I'm not saying the weight class is any easier – it's actually probably tougher – but I'll give myself a better chance of winning."
Coleman (15-8 MMA, 6-3 UFC) and Rua (16-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) first met two-and-a-half years ago at PRIDE 31. The bout ended prematurely after Rua suffered a broken arm just 49 seconds into the fight. However, like Coleman, Rua has also been out of competition for an extended period of time. He made his octagon debut with a loss to Forrest Griffin in September 2007 and hasn't fought since then because of an ACL injury.
Even with Rua's injury, many critics argue that Coleman is too old, too broken down to compete in today's MMA world.
However, Coleman couldn't disagree more.
"I've had only two surgeries my entire life," he said. "My body feels pretty fresh. Certainly the age is up there. It just all depends on if you want to put in the time and the effort to get into shape – if you still want to make the effort. I feel like I've got it into me."
Coleman, who signed a four-fight deal with the UFC ("but as you know, they can cut you at any time," he said), thinks the drop in weight class is just what he needs to launch a new chapter of his career.
"I feel pretty good at this weight class," Coleman said. "No doubt about it."
To hear the full interview with Coleman (and segments with Dan Henderson and Marcus Davis), download Tuesday's episode of TAGG Radio, available for free in the TAGG Radio archives.
