UFC Legend Mark Coleman found himself fighting a very different kind of fight from the ones in the octagon. The icon of mixed martial arts had his mind, and his life, put on the line for this.
Earlier this March, Mark Coleman was in a home with his parents when a housefire broke out.
The retired mixed martial artist was asleep when his dog, a Rottweiler named Hammer, woke him up to alert him of the fire. Mark bolted up. He could see the smoke and feel the heat.
It was dead early in the morning at 4 AM when the fire broke out. Mark was no youngster anymore being 59, but he was in the best shape out of anyone in the house.
And it fell on him to get everyone out.
The former heavyweight MMA legend had to prove he was a champ outside the octagon too.
Braving the thick smoke and the increasing heat, Mark ran through the house to get both his parents.
Smoke began to fill his lungs as he braved the flames to get his mom and dad out.
He succeeded, but he didn’t exactly make it out unscathed.
Mark eventually succumbed to the smoke inhalation, and landed in the hospital after rescuing his parents.
His beloved dog, Hammer, didn’t make it.
Mark had attempted to run back in a 3rd time to save the precious Rottweiler, but the flames had gotten too intense by then.
Mark went from champion to hero that night. His parents wouldn’t be here if not for him.
Though it’s a tragic shame that he couldn’t make it back in time to save Hammer, the family is still counting their blessings.
He recovered slowly in a hospital bed, hooked up to several tubes – presumably oxygen tanks to help his lungs recover.
Mark is a big man, but even he couldn’t resist breaking down and crying from seeing his parents safe.
“My lungs are sore. My eyes are burned, but I’m very much alive and well.” he said in an Instagram video
His parents and daughters surrounded him in the room, and the waterworks kept going.
His daughters started a GoFundme to help with the burden of hospital fees, and they’ve since received $122,000.
Here’s hoping that helps Mark get back into shape as soon as possible.
Mark Coleman has one heck of a legacy, being the first ever UFC heavyweight champion. This was way back in the dawn of the UFC, before the likes of Anderson Silva, Connor Mcgregor, and Ronda Rousey.
And he’ll go down in history as a hero too. Rest for now, champ. You’ve earned it.
The Instagram video of Mark embracing his family is absolutely going to make you tear up a little bit. As big and tough of a man as he is, he still loves his parents to death.
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