Coleman faced off against Couture this past weekend in a match that was 12 years in the making before eventually succumbing to the submission applied by Couture.  Through out the bout Coleman appeared shaky and stiff standing, with his offense frequently stifled by the strong jab of Randy Couture.  Following the unimpressive defeat, Dana White openly stated it would likely be the last time we see Mark Coleman in the UFC octagon.  It was confirmed as of today that Mark Coleman would no longer fight underneath the UFC banner.  Although the “Godfather of Ground ‘n Pound” is gone from the UFC he has yet to announce any plans of retirement.  After posting a 1-3 record across his last four fights, as well as weighing-in at the age of 45, one can only begin to imagine how much longer it will be before Mark “The Hammer” Coleman decides it’s time to hang ‘em up and walk away from the cage.

Randy Couture: $250,000 (no win bonus)
def. Mark Coleman: $60,000
-Suspended until March 9th for precautionary reasons

Chael Sonnen: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus)
-Suspended until March 24th due to forehead and nasal-bridge lacerations
def. Nate Marquardt: $45,000
-Suspended until March 9th for precautionary reasons

Paulo Thiago: $30,000 ($15,000 win bonus)
def. Mike Swick: $43,000
-Suspended until August 6th due to possible left elbow injury, can be cleared earlier by orthopedic doctor; still suspended until March 24th at the earliest

Demian Maia: $62,000 ($31,000 win bonus)
-Suspended until August 6th due to left vertical upper eye lid laceration, can be cleared earlier by ophthalmologist or ocular-plastics doctor
def. Dan Miller: $15,000
-Suspended until March 9th for precautionary reasons

Matt Serra: $150,000 ($75,000 win bonus)
def. Frank Trigg: $30,000
-Suspended until March 24th for precautionary reasons

Mac Danzig: $40,000 ($20,000 win bonus)
-Suspended until August 6th due to possible left knee sprain, can be cleared earlier by orthopedic doctor
def. Justin Buchholz: $8,000
-Suspended until March 9th due to precautionary reasons

Melvin Guillard: $28,000 ($14,000 win bonus)
-Must have a ophthalmological exam by March 26th or face suspension indefinitely
def. Ronnys Torres: $4,000

Rob Emerson: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus)
def. Phillipe Nover: $10,000

Phil Davis: $10,000 ($5,000 win bonus)
def. Brian Stann: $17,000

Chris Tuchscherer: $20,000 ($10,000 win bonus)
def. Tim Hague: $7000

Joey Beltran: $12,000 ($6,000 win bonus)
def. Rolles Gracie: $15,000
-Suspended until March 9th due to precautionary reasons

In my opinion it is a privilege to see these two active Hall of Famers in action against each other. These two gentleman wrote the book on incorporating wrestling into MMA (Randy literally wrote a book on incorporating wrestling into MMA). Mark Coleman is called “The Hammer” for a reason – he is clearly the first sensei of ground and pound. While the Gracies can say they “built this house”, Colman and Couture can easily say “we paid the mortgage on it”. They helped transition MMA from one era into another while remaining relevant to the sport. In spite of their past contributions to the sport they still continued to evolve along with it. Let’s face it – the Couture that beat Pedro Rizzo would not have been able to beat Chuck Liddell had he not evolved.

While there is no doubt that the bout will look more like a college wrestling match than a Muay Tai fight, the MMA purist fans are in for a treat. The similarities between these two will make for a very even match up. Here’s the breakdown…

Both men are former heavyweight fighters, now fighting at 205 lbs. Both men are 6’1 tall with similar win/loss records with Couture at 17/10 and Coleman at 17/9. Both are decorated amateur wrestlers, are former champions, and have been to the main event on several occasions. Both have victories over top caliber fighters: Couture with wins over Vitor Belfort and Chuck Liddell, Coleman with W’s over “Shogun” Rua, and Don Frye.

Couture is fighting his 3rd fight of a six fight contract. Win or lose, we’ll have Randy around for awhile. While Coleman was in Japan fighting for PRIDE, Couture was in the UFC getting repeated exposure in a growing market. Coleman feels this victory is a “must” for him and in some ways it probably is. Before his recent return, Coleman’s last fight in the UFC was in 1999. Couture has been in the UFC since 1997 with his only absence during a contract dispute/retirement a few years back. Let’s face it, unless you are forty years old like me, you probably don’t remember much about Mark Coleman. If he has his way February 6th – that could all change.

Written by fightpros.com contributor Scottie Farrow. Follow Scott on Twitter @yodade37