Sherdog’s Top 10: UFC Heavyweight Title Fights

3. Maurice Smith vs. Mark Coleman
UFC 14
July 27, 1997 | Birmingham, Alabama

Few outside Smith’s inner circle gave the accomplished kickboxer a chance against “The Hammer” inside the Boutwell Auditorium. An NCAA national champion wrestler at Ohio State University, Coleman represented the United States at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, before transitioning to mixed martial arts. He won his first six fights, all of them finishes, and became the first heavyweight champion in UFC history when he submitted Dan Severn in February 1997. Smith surprised onlookers by limiting the “Godfather of Ground-and-Pound” to two takedowns in their 21-minute encounter, foiling his plans with an effective sprawl and an active guard that eventually ran the Fremont, Ohio, native’s gas tank dry. He outstruck Coleman by a wide margin on the feet and wrecked his lead leg with kicks -- he was 20-for-20 on leg kicks, per FightMetric -- on his way to a unanimous decision.

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