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"I think tonight was probably Coleman's last fight in the UFC... I'm not taking anything away from Mark Coleman. I have nothing but respect for him, and I'll say this now, too: Mark Coleman has always been a stand-up guy to me... He'll always be a part of this organization. I just think he'll have a hard time competing with the guys at the top level. Age is a factor with him... This fight was a dream for Coleman. It was a dream of his to fight Randy Couture, and he wanted this thing bad. He said it best at the press conference. He said, 'Randy Couture has accomplished a lot of things and has a lot of things. I want to take some of those things from him Saturday night... He went in there, and he wasn't able to do anything. He didn't get off. Randy pretty much beat him everywhere... It's tough to say, 'It's over, and I've got to hang it up.' It's the toughest thing in the world, and I hate dealing with it. It sucks."
Penick's Analysis: White is spot on with his assessment of Coleman following Saturday's fight. Whereas Couture looked to be twenty years younger than his physical age, Coleman was slowed down and completely unable to do anything to Couture as he was getting pummeled against the cage in the first and then choked out in the second. While he had been able to pick up a victory against Stephan Bonnar last July, the simple fact remains that he didn't look anywhere near that shape just seven months later for this fight against Couture. He said after the fight that he would be back, but it's sounding like he may not have a choice in the matter. Unlike Chuck Liddell, Coleman may not be able to argue his way back into a fight in the UFC. At 45, perhaps it's time for "The Hammer" to put it on the shelf and let it be.
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