The Nevada State Athletic Commission granted Mark Coleman a one-fight license for UFC 100 at a meeting on Tuesday.
Believe it or not, the sanctioning of the Bonnar/Coleman fight has been a big question mark hovering over UFC 100 over the past month or so. Coleman was never a lock to be granted a license, as there are several members of the NSAC who believe Coleman has no business stepping in a cage and is long past the point of retirement.
Coleman appeared in person at the NSAC meeting to address some of the concerns the commission had regarding the fight. His lack of activity and the fact that he’d lost four of his past six bouts were a major concern, but Coleman alleviated those concerns by telling the NSAC that he’ll be training heavily with both Randy Couture and Wanderlei Silva in Las Vegas.
Mark Coleman is 44 years old, but it’s a very different 44 years old than Randy Couture. Coleman has taken tons of abuse over the years, and the time he spent being utterly abused in PRIDE certainly did not help his prospects for a lengthy, healthy life. It’s wise of the NSAC to take a step back and get some concerns addressed before granting him a license; if Coleman loses by knockout in this fight, there’s a very good chance that you’ll never see him get sanctioned again.
