No. 18: Maurice Smith vs. Mark Coleman
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When and Where: 1997, UFC 14
When Maurice Smith stepped into the octagon against defending champion Mark Coleman, it was a classic clash of styles: expert striker vs. expert grappler, with the UFC heavyweight title on the line.
The general consensus was that once Coleman got his hands on Smith, the fight was over. Coleman was the champion because taking fighters down and pounding them into red oblivion was what he did, so why should Smith be any exception?
For the first half of the fight, it looked as if the challenger was no exception at all, as he was pinned on his back, eating a steady diet of hammer fists and head-butts. And still, throughout it all, the challenger was defending himself. Most of Coleman’s shots crashed against Smith’s guard, doing no real damage.
Then, a new story could be seen between the lines. Smith began to find ways to scramble to his feet, leaving Coleman tired and frustrated.
When they were on their feet, it was Smith’s world, and he wasted no time in making that known to the champion, drilling his legs with brutal kicks and stamping the imprint of his fist along Coleman’s cheek and brow.
For the remainder of the fight, Smith would stuff Coleman’s take-down attempts and punish him on the feet, over and over again. By the end, Coleman was exhausted, swollen and limping to the center of the cage to hear the official decision.
Smith had backed up all the talk and was crowned the new UFC heavyweight champion. He had beaten the man many thought unbeatable, and he had also proven that the art of striking was alive and well…as long as it was able to survive on the ground.
When Maurice Smith stepped into the octagon against defending champion Mark Coleman, it was a classic clash of styles: expert striker vs. expert grappler, with the UFC heavyweight title on the line.
The general consensus was that once Coleman got his hands on Smith, the fight was over. Coleman was the champion because taking fighters down and pounding them into red oblivion was what he did, so why should Smith be any exception?
For the first half of the fight, it looked as if the challenger was no exception at all, as he was pinned on his back, eating a steady diet of hammer fists and head-butts. And still, throughout it all, the challenger was defending himself. Most of Coleman’s shots crashed against Smith’s guard, doing no real damage.
Then, a new story could be seen between the lines. Smith began to find ways to scramble to his feet, leaving Coleman tired and frustrated.
When they were on their feet, it was Smith’s world, and he wasted no time in making that known to the champion, drilling his legs with brutal kicks and stamping the imprint of his fist along Coleman’s cheek and brow.
For the remainder of the fight, Smith would stuff Coleman’s take-down attempts and punish him on the feet, over and over again. By the end, Coleman was exhausted, swollen and limping to the center of the cage to hear the official decision.
Smith had backed up all the talk and was crowned the new UFC heavyweight champion. He had beaten the man many thought unbeatable, and he had also proven that the art of striking was alive and well…as long as it was able to survive on the ground.
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