Mark Coleman Inducted / Announces Fight with Brock Lesnar in August

Mark Coleman was officially inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame at tonight’s UFC 82 "Pride of a Champion" event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.

Considered the "godfather of ground and pound", Mark Coleman was the UFC’s first ever heavyweight champion of the world. Coleman earned the title of heavyweight champ at UFC 12 after defeating Dan Severn via choke in what was considered an upset.

Mark’s debut was at UFC 10 where he won the entire tournament defeating Gary Goodridge in the semifinals and Don Frye via TKO in the final. At UFC 11 Coleman would do the same winning the tournament after his opponent in the final, Scott Ferrozzo, was unable to continue.

Coleman later went on to fight in Pride Fighting Championships in Japan becoming the first ever Pride Grand Prix Champion in 2000. With a mma record of 15-8 and 4 championships under his belt, Coleman is definitely a pioneer in the sport of mma and belongs in the UFC Hall of Fame. He will join the ranks of Dan Severn, Ken Shamrock, Randy Couture and Royce Gracie.

After Coleman’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, Mark made a huge announcement in front of the fans at UFC 82. He announced that he was not retired and that he would be fighting in the UFC in August. His opponent for the upcoming fight will be none other than Brock Lesnar. Coleman’s last fight was at Pride 32 "The Real Deal" at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, NV against Fedor Emelianenko in October of 2006. Coleman was submitted via armbar at 1:15 in the second round.

Brock Lesnar recently made his debut inside the UFC octagon at UFC 81 losing via kneebar to the former heavyweight champ Frank Mir. His pro mma record is now 1-1. Both fighters will have 5 months to prepare for their upcoming bout in August.