Retired UFC fighter Mark Coleman was in an induced coma in intensive care after rescuing his parents from a house fire in Toledo, Ohio, early Tuesday, his manager said.
Despite the urgent medical attention, family, including Coleman’s rescued mother, believe he will pull through, manager Michael DiSabato said late Tuesday.
The blaze took place around 4 a.m. when Coleman was awoken the barking of the family’s dog, Hammer, which prompted him to pull his father and then his mother out of the burning home, DiSabato said, adding that Coleman’s family said the fire began in the kitchen.
Coleman, 59, went in a third time to rescue Hammer but was unsuccessful, and the dog died, he said.
It wasn’t clear if Coleman collapsed while inside or outside the home, but the manager said the roof collapsed when the first firefighters arrived on-scene. DiSabato said Coleman suffered from the effects of smoke inhalation.
He was rushed to a Toledo hospital via helicopter, DiSabato said. His parents were not seriously injured.
Daughter Morgan Coleman said on Instagram that Mark was “fighting for his life.”
The fighter’s mother, Connie Foos Coleman, had a hopeful tone on Facebook late Tuesday: “I am going to bed! Thank God we are alive. Prayers for Mark ! Thank you to all the firefighters. And sheriffs dept. EMS Red Cross. and especially my family. Could not do this without you!”
Fire officials did not immediately respond to a request for information.
DiSabato sent photos of the home, which was nearly burned to the ground. What was left of the residence was completely charred.
Coleman is one of the UFC’s earlier breakout stars, having started in 1996, the year then-Sen. John McCain, a Republican from Arizona, described the sport as “human cockfighting.”
Yet, it was Coleman and contemporaries like Randy Couture who helped to professionalize the sport and expand it, even as they dazzled crows with some tools better suited to street fighting.
Coleman’s UFC record was 16-10-0 in the four years he fought in the organization. He also fought for Pride Fighting Championships, winning the promotion’s Grand Prix tournament in 2000.
Before transitioning to mixed martial arts, Coleman was a standout amateur wrestler, winning an NCAA championship at Ohio State in 1988 and competing at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
He later had stints in the world of scripted professional wrestling.
