Mark Coleman brought fight-ending ground striking to MMA. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
3. Mark Coleman
“The Godfather of Ground-and-Pound” fundamentally changed the game of mixed martial arts. Sure, there had been accomplished wrestlers in MMA before, namely Dan Severn, but Coleman represented an entirely different level of athleticism and accomplishment. Severn had been an All-American; Coleman won a national title, took second at the 1991 World Championships in freestyle and placed seventh at the 1992 Olympics. Moreover, unlike Severn, Coleman actually figured out a way to turn his wrestling skills into fight-ending offense.
Coleman’s list of accomplishments is long and illustrious. He won the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournaments, submitted Severn at UFC 12, won the 2000 Pride open weight grand prix in one of the most epic and impressive performances of all-time and managed to pull off victories against Stephan Bonnar and Mauricio Rua even into his 40s. He also helped to train and corner a number of other fighters, including fellow Ohio State University wrestler Kevin Randleman and Phil Baroni, passing on some of his knowledge to a slightly younger generation.
It is difficult to overstate Coleman’s influence. Practically every fighter today knows how to strike on the ground, though few do so with Coleman’s power or enthusiasm, and it is a standard part of the MMA repertoire. We have Coleman to thank for one of the biggest technical innovations in the sport’s history.
Number 2 » From a technical perspective, he was even more influential. An accomplished wrestler in high school and college, he built on that foundation with extensive training in catch wrestling under the direction of the legendary Billy Robinson. This combination made him one of the very first true wrestle-grapplers to combine slick submissions with serious takedown prowess, and it played out in exceptional ways in his fights.