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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 urgent medical care, family members, including Coleman’s rescued mother, believe he will pull through, manager Michael DiSabato said Tuesday night.
The fire took place around 4 a.m. when Coleman woke up to the barking of the family dog, Hammer, prompting him to pull his father and then his mother out of the burning house, DiSabato said, adding that Coleman’s family said the fire started in the kitchen.
Coleman, 59, went a third time to rescue Hammer, but was unsuccessful and the dog died, he said.
It was unclear whether Coleman collapsed inside or outside the home. DiSabato said the roof collapsed when the first firefighters arrived and Coleman suffered the effects of smoke inhalation.
He was rushed to a Toledo hospital by helicopter, DiSabato said. His parents were not seriously injured.
Daughter Morgan Coleman said on Instagram that he was “fighting for his life.”
Coleman’s mother, Connie Foos Coleman, had a hopeful tone Facebook Tuesday night: “I’m going to bed! Thank God we’re alive. Prayers for Mark! Thanks to all the firefighters. And the sheriff’s department. Red Cross EMS. And especially my family. “I couldn’t do this without you!”
Firefighters did not immediately respond to a request for information.
DiSabato sent photos of the house, which was almost reduced to ashes. What remained of the residence was completely burned.
Coleman was one of the UFC’s first breakout stars, having started in 1996, the year Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., described the sport as “human cockfighting.”
Coleman and contemporaries like Randy Couture helped professionalize the sport and expand it, even as they dazzled crowds with some tools more 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 turning to mixed martial arts, Coleman was a noted amateur wrestler, winning an NCAA championship at Ohio State in 1988 and competing in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
He later had stints in the world of scripted professional wrestling.
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