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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief The UFC has been through many ups and downs throughout it's 16 year history. From the beginnings of the sport as "anything goes, which style is better" contests, to the dark ages with little pay-per-view coverage to this booming mega sport garnering millions of dollars in live gates and pay-per-view buys, it's been a long road getting to UFC 100 on July 11th. With this series we will highlight many of the key numbered events, in chronological order, that have led to this historic pay-per-view card. New events will be covered daily as we come up on the July 11th event.
UFC 10 was a pertinant show to the history of this UFC 100 event for a couple of reasons, but the biggest is that this was the debut of future Hall of Famer and competitor on the UFC 100 card, Mark Coleman.
Coleman was an amateur wrestler who competed for the U.S. in the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, placing seventh overall in the 220lb. weight class. He made the transition to MMA competition when he signed on for the eight man tournament for UFC 10 on July 12, 1996.
Coleman made quick work of his first opponent of the night, forcing Motu Horenstein to submit from the strikes Coleman was landing from top position in 2:43. He defeated UFC 8's second place finisher Gary Goodridge in 7:00 in his semifinal bout as well to set up his final bout with Don Frye, the UFC 8 tournament Champion and 6-0 fighter into their bout.
Coleman controlled Frye in the fight en route to a TKO victory 11:43 into the fight, announcing his official arrival on the scene. It was Frye's only loss until 2002. This night's performance has also come to be known as the "birth of ground and pound," as Coleman showcased for the first time a style that in later years would be a staple for Tito Ortiz and many other powerful top fighters.
The other major significance of this event was the UFC finding it's "Voice of the Octagon," as Bruce Buffer made his pay-per-view ring announcing debut, a position he holds to this day.
Now, at 44 years of age, Coleman steps back into the Octagon yet again against Stephen Bonnar on July 11th, almost exactly thirteen years from his professional debut. Will he regain some of his past success? Or will it be time for "The Hammer" to hang it up? It's been a long and winding road for Coleman to get here, and we'll find out on the 11th.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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