“We’ve All Been Touched by Autism”- 58-Year-Old UFC Legend Dwells on 1996 Memory Months Before Making a Comeback Into Combat Sports

The early years of the UFC were wild. The unified rules did not exist, weight classes were not seen until five years after its inception and most events were held in a tournament format. The initial selling point of the UFC was seeing practitioners of different martial arts taking each other on to see the last man standing.

The first time the UFC implemented weight classes was at UFC 12 in 1996. Even then, there were only two weight divisions – the lightweight division for those under 200 pounds and the heavyweight division for those fighters over 200 pounds. This was not the only ‘first’ in UFC history. This was also the first time a fighter was crowned the UFC heavyweight champion. Mark Coleman was the first fighter to hold the title and the hall-of-famer reminisced about the event on his Instagram recently.

Mark Coleman recreates iconic fight with Dan Severn at UFC 12

Coleman took to Instagram and posted a picture of him and Severn fighting at UFC 12. Below it was a picture of him and Severn at an autism awareness fundraiser, recreating their iconic fight. In the captions, he paid tribute to Severn. He also announced that he will team up with his former rival for a tag-team match at a pro-wrestling event in Japan.

“Ufc, 12 1996 for the first ever UFC heavyweight champion in history☠️ vs @dan.thebeast.severn was the top two best highlights of my whole, athletic career right place right time, but I knew that going in. The picture on the top is me and Dan on Saturday at an autism awareness fundraiser. We’ve all been touched by autism. Looks like we will be tag teaming up for some pro wrestling in Japan. I am so excited definitely told Dan he better tan up I’m still sober. All of this is only possible Sober is the coolest thing ever, carnivore diet has been good to me. ,” he wrote in the captions.

Mark Coleman announces he will be fighting in November

Coleman, it seems, has not quit the fight game even at 58 years of age. He also announced that he would fight in the Celebrity Boxing promotion in November. The hall of famer will be facing former professional boxer Montell J. Griffin in the ring.

“Thank you know I will be fighting in @celebrityboxing1 vs @montellicegriffin November 4 in Florida on Fyte tv PPV . Hammer house for life,” Coleman wrote.

Read More – “Get a Shirt, Grandma”–Fans React as 58-Year-Old UFC Legend Mark Coleman Gets “Arrested Walking Naked” After Conor McGregor Call Out

Mark Coleman is one of the earliest fighters who showed the world how effective wrestlers can be in the UFC. He is an innovator of the ground-and-pound game that has become a staple of modern MMA. These guys were instrumental not only in the success of the UFC, but in developing the modern version of Mixed Martial Arts.

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