“The Hammer” recently looked back on his career while speaking with Inside MMA where he touched on a number of topics including his glory days, a controversial moment occurring after one of his fights with Fedor Emelianenko, and whether or not there were any opponents still piquing his interest.

“I’ll be honest with you. It’s easier to win the belt than to keep the belt,” said Coleman of his early run in the UFC where he won gold only to lose it in his first defense. “Nothing against Mo Smith but if I would’ve prepared properly I think I would’ve destroyed him. But I didn’t because I didn’t prepare properly, he did, and what a humbling, humbling experience.”

Coleman took that humility with him to PRIDE where, entering the 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix with a 1-1 record in the promotion, the godfather of ground-and-pound surprised all by emerging as the tournament’s champion.

“The critics are usually right but you can prove em wrong sometimes,” Coleman fondly reflected.

Another bout under the PRIDE banner fans likely remember is Coleman’s encounter with Emelianenko at PRIDE 32 where, after losing, the decorated wrestler brought his terrified daughters into the ring to spend time with them. While Coleman didn’t say he regretted the decision, he did make it clear he received a lot of heat and appeared to be genuinely affected on an emotional level by the situation.

“It was a tough night because I took a lot of criticism from a lot of fans and a lot of professionals claiming that I traumatized my daughters. And at the time, being a dad, it was the most important thing to me. I just remember very clearly…I don’t mind losing, I just don’t wanna hurt my kids,” a tearful Coleman expressed.

Looking forward, Coleman stopped short of guaranteeing a return to the ring but acknowledged he could be swayed to do so if the right situation appeared. Likewise, the 16-10 competitor doesn’t appear to have any interest in taking on the next generation of Mixed Martial Artists but wouldn’t mind getting his hands on a legend or two.

“It seems to always come down to one guy…Tito…what’s his last name? Oh yeah, Tito Ortiz. Dan Severn, he’s the one calling me out every day. He wants a revenge match versus me but I keep telling him, he’s 280 pounds and needs to lose some weight and then maybe I’ll think about it. Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Tito Ortiz…other than that…I gotta get in shape,” admitted Coleman, perhaps indicative he is enjoying retirement a little too much to return after all.

Meanwhile, though his fighting future is up in the air, Coleman’s main focus moving forward will be on his aforementioned daughters who are now both athletes in their own right. From world champion to proud father, Coleman’s journey has been an eventful one with no signs of slowing down in the immediate future. We should all be so lucky at his age.

Watch the full interview below:

PHOTO CREDIT – FEG/UFC

Couture controlled the action for the bulk of the headlining match-up between the pair that took place during UFC 109 before sinking in a rear-naked choke to finish the bout – and effectively Mark Coleman’s career with the UFC – in the second round.

Affectionately referred to as “The Godfather of Ground and Pound” for good reason, Coleman first exploded onto the UFC scene back in 1996 when the former NCAA champion wrestler completely decimated three opponents (including Gary Goodridge and Don Frye) to be crowned the UFC 10 Tournament Champion, and completely changed the way many approached the game in the process.

“The Hammer” utilized his trademark ground and pound to become the UFC’s first ever heavyweight champion before going overseas to capture the illustrious PRIDE 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix Tournament Championship.

In 2009 Coleman made his long awaited return to the UFC where he suffered a loss in his first bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (a bout that earned Mark “FOTN” honors) before shocking many at UFC 100 with a dominant decision victory over the much younger Stephan Bonnar.

Rear Naked Radio returns this evening as FiveOuncesofPain.com Managing Editor and RNR co-host Cory Brady joins Richard Hunter and Pugs Moran to welcome baseball legend/MMA fighter Mark Coleman and Guy Mezger to the show.

Make sure to check out the show on 1360 AM, or you can catch it right here on the web at RearNakedRadio.

The show is set to kick off on Friday evening, January 21, beginning at 7 pm ET (6 pm CT, 4 pm PT), lasting until 9 pm ET (8 pm CT, 6 pm PT) .

While Ortiz has hinted at a possible fight with Mark Coleman in recent interviews, Fighters Only Magazine is now reporting that Coleman agreed to the bout earlier today. The two former UFC champions have reportedly agreed to fight at the currently unannounced UFC 106, which is rumored to take place on November 21 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Much like Ortiz, Coleman made huge news himself last year when he announced his return to the UFC after a ten-year absence from the company. He went on to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 93 and lost via third-round TKO in a fight that saw “The Hammer” come close to defeating him numerous times. Then the UFC hall-of-famer followed that performance up with a very impressive unanimous-decision victory over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 this past July.

Ortiz last saw action at UFC 84 in a losing effort against current UFC light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida. Ortiz managed to take Machida to the distance and even came close to finishing him off during the fight. It’s widely believed that Ortiz is the one fighter who has come the closest to defeating Machida and it will be very interesting to see if he can earn a rematch with “The Dragon” in the near future.

Published reports indicate that former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman has been offered a fight against one of the company’s most pivotal fighters, Stephan Bonnar, the light heavyweight runner-up during the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

News of the matchup comes courtesy of a report by MMAMania.com, which claims that bout agreements have been distributed to both fighters in anticipation of the July 11 event in Las Vegas.

If signed, the fight will mark the second bout for Coleman as a light heavyweight. He is coming off a third round TKO loss to former PRIDE rival Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 93 in February.

Coleman looked very sluggish fighting at 205 pounds and gassed very early but showed a lot of heart and determination in keeping the fight closer than many people had anticipated. The fight earned both men an additional $40,000 as it was awarded “Fight of the Night” honors.

Coleman’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame took place in 2008 and soon after it was announced he was coming out of retirement to fight Brock Lensar at UFC 87. However, Coleman was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury.

In addition to the holding the UFC’s heavyweight title, Coleman was also crowned champion in PRIDE’s first-ever open weight Grand Prix, which took place back in 2000. Overall, Coleman is 15-9 and is 6-4 in the UFC with wins over Gary Goodridge, Dan Severn and Don Frye.

Bonnar will be looking to rebound from a loss sustained against up and coming sensation Jon Jones at UFC 94. During the bout, Bonnar was literally thrown around by the physically gifted Jones for three rounds and looked like an average fighter that night.

Bonnar has had his share of ups and downs since his historic battle with Forrest Griffin during the live finale from the first season of TUF. It was a fight not only elevated the careers of both fighters, but helped propel the UFC to a meritoric period of growth.

The two battled back and forth for three rounds and converted many novice followers of the sport into hardcore MMA fans. Since the fight, Bonnar has battled through injuries as well as a suspension after testing positive for steroids in 2008. He is 14-5 overall with a 5-4 record in the UFC, including a notable unanimous decision victory over Keith Jardine.

UFC 100 is currently expected to feature matchups involving UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre defending his title vs. Thiago Alves and rival TUF 9 coaches Michael Bisping and Dan Henderson fighting in a middleweight matchup. It’s also possible that a postponed heavyweight title unification match between UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar and interim UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir could be rescheduled for the event as well.

You might be asking how I was able to enjoy a fight as sloppy as Coleman vs. Rua II and my reason is because from a fan’s perspective, the fight took me on a roller coaster ride of emotions. During the course of the nearly 15 minutes, I experienced a love/hate fascination with the bout like no other.

One of the most memorable fights I have ever witnessed was Coleman being upset by Maurice Smith at UFC 14 in 1997. At the time, Coleman was considered the top fighter in MMA. Personally, I loved seeing Coleman, the UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion, back after 10 years away from the Octagon.

And while I loved seeing Coleman back, I hated seeing a man a 44-years old man slugging it out with a fighter 17 years his junior. Coleman appeared to be in great shape for a 44-year old man, but he still looked like a 44-year old man.

I also loved seeing Rua back in action after nearly a year and a half layoff due to a chronic knee injury. Once considered one of the top light heavyweight fighters in the world, the idea of possibly seeing Rua return to form made the match exciting for me.

However, I hated seeing Rua struggle for much of the fight to put away a 44-year old man who was gassed by the middle of the first round. Any hope that Rua would resume being the dynamic talent he showed during his PRIDE days quickly evaporated when the same stamina issues that hurt him vs. Forrest Griffin at UFC 76 were on display again vs. Coleman.

As tough as it was to see Rua compete as a shadow of his former self, it was a thrill getting to see Coleman make a go of it and create the possibility that we might see a dramatic upset. But in the end, the thrill ride that Coleman vs. Rua took me on wasn’t worth it. Seeing an aging Coleman absorb strike after strike because he was too tired to keep his hands up began to feel unseemly.

Yes, I enjoy the not so intellectual practice of seeing grown men (and women) fight. However, that doesn’t make me heartless. I respect Coleman’s contributions to the sport and the impact he’s had and because of that, I don’t want to see him take another beating like he did last night ever again. I realize he has two daughters to support, but what good is he going to be to them if he has permanent brain damage? Hearing Coleman campaign for a third fight vs. Rua was tough for me to stomach.

Watching Coleman fight evoked memories of past episodes of HBO’s Real Sports in which ex-NFL players were depicted as struggling with life after football. Despite having once been world class athletes in their primes, retirement has brought them divorce, major financial hardships, as well as declining health. I don’t want to see Coleman head down that road.

The news that Coleman vs. Rua received a co-”Fight of the Night” bonus has been met with a negative reaction from many people. However, considering Coleman’s contributions to the sport and the fact that many people that know him have told me he’s not doing so great financially these days, anything done to put an additional $40,000 in his pocket is an awesome move in my book.

There has to be a place in MMA for Coleman, one of the sport’s true heroes. However, that place is no longer in the ring or cage as an active competitor.

In addition to featured matchups between light heavyweights Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Mark Coleman, fights between Denis Kang vs. Alan Belcher, Andre Gusmao vs. Antonio Mendes, Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle, Jeremy Horn vs. Rouismar Palhares, Tomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati, and Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway have all been confirmed by the promotion.

Kang, Serati, Egan, and Hathaway will all be making their UFC debuts on the card.

According to the site, as of now, the bouts scheduled to be telecast are Franklin vs. Henderson, Coleman vs. Rua, Kang vs. Belcher, Mendes vs. Gusmao, and Siver vs. Mohr. However, changes to the preliminary TV schedule could be made, as it is unlikely that Siver vs. Mohr would make the telecast ahead of Davis vs. Lytle, a battle of professional boxers that could contend for “Fight of the Night” honors.

Also, the UFC has yet to announce whether UFC 93 will air in the United States on Spike TV or on pay-per-view. Previous reports indicated that the promotion was in talks to possibly broadcast the event free of charge on Spike TV, but with each day that passes without an agreement, the more likely it is that the event will be a PPV.

Gunderson holds a 15-5 record that includes two wins and two losses in the IFL. One of those losses came in his last fight against Wagnney Fabiano at the IFL World Grand Prix Semifinals on November 3. Gunderson expects a better result later this month against Schultz.

“I lost [to Fabiano] in my head before I even got in the ring,” recalls Gunderson of his submission loss. “I broke my hand three weeks before the fight and I could barely train. Even a week before the fight it hurt just to run or shadow box. The IFL wanted me to pull out.”

Gunderson didn’t pull out, thinking that he could tough it out in order to collect a payday for his family. But the injury put him in a bad situation.

“In the first round I went to punch him in the side and I hit him in his elbow. It hurt so bad. I came back to the corner and Ken (Shamrock) knew I was hurt.”

Less than two minutes later, Gunderson was in Fabiano’s guillotine and tapped out. He doesn’t want to make excuses, but he is also confident it would go differently if he was healthy.

“I don’t want to take anything away from him. He did his thing and he beat me but I’d love to fight him again. I know I would beat him.”

The road to the IFL was a tiring one for John Gunderson, who had to make a grueling road trip just to get a shot to compete.

Gunderson received a phone call the day before tryouts were to occur for a spot on Ken Shamrock’s Lions Den team. The problem was that he was home in Oregon and had to work the next day. After taking the day off and convincing a buddy to join him, Gunderson drove all night, arriving in town at 1:00 am. He was able to catch a little sleep but he woke up early as tryouts started at 9:00 and he had no idea where they were located.

After finding the facility and consuming little more than some Gatorade, John pushed through the all-day session before making the long drive back home so that he could be at work the next day. It wasn’t until he was back in Oregon when he got the call that he would be part of the Lions Den team for 2007.

Now he’s training full time at the Lions Den and living in Reno but is planning on moving to Las Vegas next week. About to become the head instructor at a new LA Boxing location, Gunderson looks to capitalize on living and training in the city where so many champions currently train.

Gunderson hopes to add his own name to that list of champions when he takes on Ryan Schultz for the IFL lightweight title. In his opinion, the two match up for a very exciting fight.

“We’re both strong guys. He’s a better wrestler. I’m a better grappler. He punches harder, but I am a better technical boxer. And I have a better chin.”

Ten of Gunderson’s fifteen wins have come via submission which would lead a casual fan to think that he likes things on the ground. But that’s not actually the case according to the man himself.

“I have a lot of submissions to my credit,” he says. “But it’s mainly because guys don’t want to stand with me. I’d prefer to stand and strike, but I’m just as happy to submit guys too. This fight is definitely staying on our feet and it’s going to be the fight of the night.”

Schultz will likely come ready to do his part to earn best fight honors. He has an aggressive style that can be dangerous to his opponents. Gunderson is ready for this and seems unfazed.

“Schultz always comes out swinging for the fences from the very start and is going 100% all the time,” says Gunderson. “He throws with bad intentions, but he’s wild. There’s no way he’ll be able to go five rounds the way he fights [note: this fight is scheduled for three rounds]. He may get a lucky shot in, but if he doesn’t then he’ll probably gas before the end of the fight.”

When the IFL was launched, there were two key differences separating them from the UFC and other organizations. Instead of a cage, IFL fights occur inside a ring. Additionally, the IFL consisted of teams of five fighters that competed for a league championship. The organization recently announced that they were doing away with the team concept and Gunderson thinks that’s a good decision.

“I thought the team thing was OK,” says Gunderson. “But I prefer not to be on a team. I mainly want to worry about myself. I don’t want to worry about getting anyone else ready to fight and I don’t want them to worry about me.”

“I like hanging out with those guys and I still work out at the Lions Den. You always need training partners to get ready for a fight but worrying about whether the other guys are going to win sucks.”

Aside from how it affects him personally, Gunderson also feels this change makes for a better product from the IFL.

“Now that there aren’t any teams, the competition is going to be a lot better. Now, a camp can bring in the guys they think are best and that may be only three guys. Before, each team had to always have five guys and the fifth guy or even the fourth guy may not be very good. That doesn’t make for good fights. Now the top guys should be facing each other and it will be better for the fans.”

And as for the ring, Gunderson feels that it has both advantages and disadvantages over the cage. It may also give him a small advantage in his match against Schultz.

“The ring provides a better view for the fans, but I don’t like the possibility of getting caught up in the ropes. But since he’s a better wrestler, he can’t get me pinned up against the cage.”

So what is Gunderson’s prediction for February 29?

“I don’t like to predict when or how, but I will predict that I’m going to win.”