UFC cuts Mark Coleman
In what can be considered a rare occassion, UFC cut Mark Coleman from his contract today after his second round loss to Randy Couture at this past weekend’s UFC 109 PPV. A lot of people were hopeful that Coleman would get one more fight in the UFC against Tito Ortiz after the post-fight comments exchanged from the two, but as of today that does not appear to be the case.
Coleman, 45, has been a UFC headliner since the mid 90s when he captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship at UFC 12 with a win over Dan “The Beast” Severn. The peak of his career would have to be in 2000 when he won the PRIDE 2000 Openweight Grand Prix tournament with a win over Igor Vovchanchyn in the Tokyo Dome. At UFC 82, Coleman was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame.
Story found here: http://ugo.com/tv/here-today-gone-tomorrow-ufc-headliner-cut-from-his-con tract
This is for the better in my opinion.
While a fight between Ortiz-Coleman may have been interesting, it is ultimately meaningless in the long run. Ortiz’s days in the UFC should be coming to a close soon too.
The heavy rumor right now is Couture/James Toney, but I can see Couture/Ortiz happening for both before it’s all said and done.
Couture-Toney?
Why would they give Couture to a total new comer who has never fought MMA?
Money
Who the hell is James Toney anyway? I’ve never heard of him.
There is probably more money in a Couture-Rich Franklin fight. I would watch that.
He’s a former champion boxer. It’s the whole boxing/MMA deal.
As a first time thing, Couture/Toney would probably double the draw of Franklin/Couture. But after that, it’d have to be a bigger name.
I don’t know about that. The whole Toney thing bothers me. The guy is delusional. He’s going to be hopelessly inept at MMA, and he will completely embarrass himself. His best days are long since behind him, but there is a sizable (very vocal) contingent of “boxing experts” who think that everybody is running scared of him. They seem to be oblivious to the fact that he has struggled wildly in his recent fights, and have as such decided that it is this great injustice that the Klitschko’s won’t fight him. The fact of the matter is he is 41 years old, he’s rapidly deteriorating as a fighter, and has done nothing that would even come close to meriting a title shot. He rants and raves about how he never gets any opportunities in boxing, and so he is forced to go to UFC. The reason doors are closing to him is because his time in the sport is coming to an end, and its as simple as that. Now move on.
If Dana White is even considering one of these match ups its a joke.
If he does consider it, it’s a counter to the whole Herschel Walker deal.
I don’t think it’s necessarily a smart move, but to a casual audience, I think it outdraws Couture/Franklin for sure.
Is it smart business? If Couture wins quickly it probably is.
Couture/Franklin is in the works. I’m a genius.
http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/Update-Couture-Franklin-Being-Discussed-for-June-UFC-22588
Yep, I saw that earlier today. It doesn’t do much for me, but it gives Couture more fights that he can win.
It does more for me than Coleman or Vera. I really like Franklin simply because he is sort of an all-american guy who just picked up the sport and excelled. No great pedigree.
With Vitor Belfort injured though, me and my roommate were tossing around the idea of Couture fighting Silva. That would sell. Though we also came up with Anderson Silva vs. Thiago Silva at 205, which I think would be an epic match.
I think it’d pretty much be the death of Couture and I’m not sure they’ll ever put him in the cage with Silva. But it is intriguing.
I think Franklin’s bubble has busted to a lot of fans. He couldn’t beat Silva. He’s struggled against other guys who he should’ve beaten a little easier. But you’re right in that he’s definitely a guy whose good for the sport (via the All-American tag).
I could see them going that way in Silva vs. Silva. It would be a good test for Anderson and a step up from Forrest.
Silva v. Silva is a fight I could get very hyped for. It would be a standing battle with neither guy needing to fear the take down. And easily hyped.
nice choice,, coleman will be the man..
Silva-Maia.
As me and my friends like to say…”Wha da fak?”
That is one of two things. A) Another highlight reel knockout for Anderson or B) another Thales Leites fight.
After I heard it wasn’t going to be Sonnen, I knew it was going to be Maia next.
Other than Marquardt right now, who else is in the top of the class that has won fights recently?
No one. That is why I was supporting a 205 match against Thiago Silva. lol
I think the issue is that you can’t let that belt go dormant without it being defended. They couldn’t go to a 205 lb match this time around for that reason. Plus, if he’s training for a 185 match, his diet and training changes than if he was training for a 205 match.
its referee Rafael Ramos now who is the third man of the fight between pacquiao and clottey..
The match is about two months away, which is plenty of time to adjust his regiment from a 185 match to a 205 match.
The need to put the belt on the line is a more compelling argument. But I would personally look forward to a 205 slugfest than a lopsided 185 fight.
Like I said in the other post…”poor Maia”.
If Silva has already started his heavy training, then it probably is a bigger deal. But if he hasn’t yet, then it’s not so much. Though, it’d be much easier than doing it the other way around.
Chances we see a title eliminator match between Belfort and Sonnen?
That’s a good idea there JP. Right now, I’d expect Sonnen to Randy Couture him.
You know I wasn’t sold on Vitor getting this fight anyway. I didn’t (and don’t) think a win at a non-existent weight class qualifies anyone for a title shot against MMA’s greatest middleweight.
That title eliminator would validate either fighter in my mind; though Sonnen’s win did impress the hell out of me.
I almost became a Sonnen fan until I remembered he is a politically ambitious man and I don’t like politics.
If Sonnen lies on Belfort for three rounds, I think I will have to take an extended break from watching UFC programming.
@Duan – Ha!
@JP – The Belfort deal has been what it is his entire career. They’ve completely sold him on promise and as the next big thing. He’s shown glimpses of promise and at one point, looked like he was ready to make that step. Then his sister was kidnapped and I’m sure he went through a ton more stuff and has never really fulfilled promise. Beating Franklin wasn’t a big deal in my mind, though, other than Silva, who else has finished Franklin? I think that’s what they were banking on. I still see Dana trying whatever it takes to get Belfort that fight. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it in July or August.
I can’t wait to see this fight..