The Hammer vs Shogun: A Fight Worth the Hype?

Hello folks! Sorry for the long delay but I am back with my perspective for UFC 93 and the fight between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs Mark "The Hammer" Coleman. This has been a fight MMA fans have wanted to see yet I forgot all about the controversy until I saw the UFC 93 TV clip.

This could be a good rematch to settle the score between one of the most dangerous fighters in the light heavy weight division and the original "ground and pound" expert. Or it can be one sided and just bore fans to sleep.

Their first encounter back in Pride ended in a major in-ring breakout with the likes of the WWE. Shogun landed in a strange position when Coleman took him down, causing his arm to break. Coleman continued punching Shogun because I assume he had no idea what had just happened happened until the referee stopped the fight.

That's when all hell broke loose. Though I was not there in Japan to see the fight, I am sure many four letter words were exchanged between both camps. 

As fighters know, the actual fight does not stop until the referee steps in and puts a halt to the match. With this being said, Coleman was not in the wrong. What he is accused of in my opinion is his lack of professionalism and respect after Shogun's broke his arm.

Instead of stopping himself from being in a "roid" like rage screaming at the top of his lungs, he and his camp should have went to the corner and waited for doctors to attend to Shogun. Instead, the pushing and shoving exacerbated the situation and made Coleman look like a crazy man. Then to add insult to injury, Coleman stands on the ropes and pounds his chest like King Kong.

Maybe they've made up and have become best friends. I think there has to be some anomosity still brewing inside of Shogun and I assume UFC President Dana White said why not let Shogun and Coleman settle an old score.

Is this the most exciting fight on paper? Not really. I would rather see Franklin vs Henderson than watch Coleman lose yet again. But I better put a stop here so I don't end up eating my own words. Is it possible for Coleman to win? Yes. Is it probably? No. When was the last time Coleman won a fight?

I see Shogun coming out firing right away, going for the clinch when Coleman tries to take him down and Shogun being on top, punching away at Coleman's face. Shogun will win by TKO or submission. And that will wrap UFC 93's hype of Shogun putting down the Hammer.