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A light-heavyweight bout between UFC Hall-of-Famers Randy Couture and Mark Coleman has been verbally agreed upon for UFC 109 in February. News of the bout was first reported by Sherdog.com.
According to the report, the bout will likely serve as the event's co-headline match-up.
The match is a longtime coming as Couture and Coleman were originally set to square off at UFC 17: "Redemption" all the way back on May 15, 1998 in Mobile, AL. The clash was scrapped, however, after Couture was forced off of the event following a rib injury.
The fight pits two men who are decorated collegiate wrestlers. Couture was a three-time Olympic team alternate in 1988, 1992 and 1996 as well as a semifinalist at the 2000 Olympic Trials, a three-time NCAA Div. I All-American and a two-time NCAA Div. I runner-up at Oklahoma State University.
Coleman was a two-time Mid-American Conference wrestling champion out of Miami University. He transferred to Ohio State University in his senior year, where he won an NCAA Div. I championship. Coleman was then awarded a spot on the U.S. wrestling team, placing seventh overall in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
Couture and Coleman actually wrestled one another in a freestyle match at the 1989 Olympic Festival at Oklahoma State. Coleman won the match by one point.
Couture (17-10) is fresh off a close unanimous decision win over Brandon Vera at this past weekend's UFC 105 in what was his first light-heavyweight fight since UFC 57 in February of 2006. Prior to the loss, he lost back-to-back bouts in the heavyweight division against Brock Lesnar and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Couture has put together a 14-7 record in 12 years with the UFC, scoring notable Octagon wins over the likes of Vitor Belfort(x2), Kevin Randleman, Pedro Rizzo (x2), Tito Ortiz, Chuck Liddell, Tim Sylvia and Gabriel Gonzaga. He has fought the majority of his career with the UFC, fighting 21 of his 27 career fights with the promotion and also is the only fighter to have held titles in both the UFC's light-heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.
Coleman was originally slated to fight Tito Ortiz at UFC 106 on Nov. 21, however, he withdrew from the event due to a knee injury.
Coleman (16-9) is coming off of a win against Stephan Bonnar at UFC 100 in July. The win snapped a two fight losing streak for Coleman, as he lost to Mauricio Rua in his previous bout at UFC 93 in January, which was his first fight in the Octagon since 1999. He has put together a 7-4 UFC record since debuting with the promotion in July 1996, holding notable UFC wins over Don Frye and Dan Severn.
The longtime Pride veteran has finished 12 of his 16 career wins and holds other notable career wins over the likes of Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Allan Goes, Igor Vovchanchyn, Kazuyuki Fujita.
Though not officially announced, UFC 109 is tentatively set for Feb. 6 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV and is rumored to be headlined by a UFC middleweight title fight between current champ Anderson Silva and challenger, Vitor Belfort.
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