Breaking news! Mark Coleman retires

http://www.mmajunkie.com/news/2013/03/former-ufc-champ-mark-coleman-officially-retires-from-mma
The godfather of ground and pound officially is hanging up his gloves.

Mark "The Hammer" Coleman (16-10) recently announced via Facebook that he's retiring from MMA.

"The hammer is done fighting," the UFC on Hall of Famer wrote. "I know been done. Just looking for some prayers."

Coleman, 48, also revealed that he's scheduled to undergo total hip-replacement surgery on Monday.

"I thank everyone who will help me get through this," he stated. "Have to pay to play sometimes. Only regret is could have worked harder."

Coleman, whose wrestling and ground-striking skills spawned a style of fighting integral to modern MMA, retires with a 16-10 record served over 17 years.

The Fremont, Ohio native and NCAA Division I national wrestling champ (at Ohio State) made his professional MMA debut in 1996 at UFC 10, where he defeated three consecutive opponents to win a heavyweight tournament. He won another tournament at UFC 11 and then won the UFC heavyweight championship with a submission win over Dan Severn.

Coleman hit the skids in his very next bout at UFC 14 and lost his title to Maurice Smith. Subsequent losses to Pete Smith and Pedro Rizzo followed, and he went to Japan to fight in the upstart PRIDE Fighting Championships.

Overseas, Coleman again found traction and won a 2000 PRIDE grand prix and reclaimed his position as one of the world's best heavyweights.

Injuries, however, continued to burden Coleman, and the style that worked so well for him early in his career became outdated.

A UFC comeback in 2009 saw an aging Coleman gas out badly against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93. He then surged back for a triumphant win over Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100, but a second-round submission loss to fellow UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at UFC 109 prompted his release from the promotion.

As recently as 2011, Coleman considered retirement and even made overtures toward a bout with former NFL player turned MMA fighter Herschel Walker. But he made no official announcements about his future.

"Love you all live your dream," he wrote on Facebook.