Following an abysmal performance against Randy ‘The Natural’ Couture (18-10-0) at UFC 109: Relentless last night, UFC President Dana White had this to say about Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman’s (16-10-0) future with the promotion:

‘I think that was probably Coleman’s last fight in the UFC. Mark Coleman has always been a stand-up guy with me. I think he’s going to have a hard time competing with these guys at the top. Age is a factor with him.’

Being the original UFC heavyweight champion it is tough to Coleman go out on such a low note, but expectations were not very high as the 45-year-old had taken a four year sabbatical from the octagon following his loss to Fedor Emelianenko back in 2006. Most fans believed that fight would be the last of his career, but the ever gracious (and business savvy) Dana White decided to give Coleman one last shot at glory by awarding him a 3-fight deal in 2009.

Coleman returned to the octagon in January 2009 having shed forty pounds to compete as a light heavyweight, and lost his first bout against current top contender Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua though the effort was dubbed ‘Fight of the Night’ at UFC 93. Coleman then took on fellow veteran Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in an under card match-up where both fighters looked to be low on gas which turned out a lame unanimous decision win for Coleman that set him up for last night’s battle with Couture.

Over the past year Coleman has displayed a steady decline in all facets of his game and having already accomplished so much in the sport of mixed martial arts, it is tough to imagine anyone in his camp would be encouraging him to take another fight. Dana White surely won’t be:

‘He wasn’t able to do anything,’ White said. ‘Is a fighter ever accepting? It’s tough to say it’s over.’

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