Team Hammer House is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

team operating out of

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, made up of mostly former NCAA

wrestlers Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat spor ...

. While Hammer House focuses on amateur wrestling they do have cross training deals with notable fighters and camps such as

Matt Serra Matthew John Serra (born June 2, 1974) is an American former professional mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is the co-star of Dana White: Lookin' for a Fight and co-h ...

Pat Miletich Patrick Jay Miletich (; born March 9, 1966) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former sports commentator. He is known for his fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, where he became the first UFC Welterweight Champion and UFC ...

and

Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flagship gym in Las Vegas. Since th ...

. Founded by former

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

champion

Mark Coleman Mark Daniel Coleman (born December 20, 1964) is an American retired mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and amateur wrestler. Coleman was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first UFC Heavyweight Champion, and the Pride Fig ...

, Team Hammer House has attracted such mixed martial arts fighters as

Kevin Randleman Kevin Christopher Randleman (August 10, 1971 – February 11, 2016) was an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and former UFC Heavyweight Champion. Randleman's background was in collegiate wrestling, in which he became ...

and

Phil Baroni Philip George Baroni (April 16, 1976) is a retired American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, Baroni has competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Strikeforce, Cage Rage, DREAM, EliteX ...

History

UFC dominance

Coleman made his professional MMA debut at

UFC 10 ''UFC 10: The Tournament'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 12, 1996, at the Fairgrounds Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The event was seen live on pay per view in the United States, and later r ...

. With his solid wrestling background and physical power he won six fights in a row. He beat fighters including

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the ''UFC 8'' and ''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' tournaments an ...

Gary Goodridge Gary Henry Goodridge (born January 17, 1966), nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian-Canadian former heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Prior to kickboxing and MMA, he was also one of the top ranked ...

and

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed marti ...

, en route to winning the UFC 10 and

UFC 11 ''UFC 11: The Proving Ground'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on September 20, 1996, at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Georgia. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and ...

tournaments and the first ever UFC

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

title. Randleman's MMA career began with a call from Coleman to invite him to fight in Brazil where he went on to achieve a record of 7 wins and 2 losses. Randleman moved on to the UFC, where he also won the Heavyweight title. Coleman subsequently experienced a downturn in his career as his predominantly wrestling based style became less effective, with losses to fighters with more developed striking skills and cardio, including Maurice Smith, Pete Williams and

Pedro Rizzo Pedro Augusto Rizzo (; born 3 May 1974) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed for the UFC, PRIDE, M-1 Global, and Affliction. Although he never captured the UFC Heavyweight Championship, Rizzo competed for it th ...

Coleman and Randleman move to PRIDE

After the loss to Rizzo, Coleman moved to the

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

organization where he experienced a great deal of initial success, winning the

PRIDE Grand Prix 2000 Finals The year 2000 is the 4th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2000 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride FC - Grand Prix 2000: Opening Round''. Debut Pride FC fighters The fol ...

. Randleman also joined PRIDE, debuting against

Michiyoshi Ohara (born November 15, 1967) is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestled from 1990 to 2004, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship with ...

and becoming a top contender for the Middleweight title before losing to

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

. The main Randleman's victory in PRIDE FC was his stunning and brutal KO victory over

Mirko Filipović Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro C ...

. Both Coleman and Randleman have since experienced downturns in their careers, with losses to fighters such as

Fedor Emelianenko Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Фёдор Влади́мирович Емелья́ненко, r=Fyodor Vladimirovich Yemelyanenko, p=ˈfʲɵdər vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ jɪmʲɪˈlʲjænʲɪnkə, IPA; born ...

and

Mirko Cro Cop Mirko Filipović (; born 10 September 1974), better known by his ring name Mirko Cro Cop, is a retired Croatian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and amateur boxer. He is mostly known for his time in Pride Fighting Championships. Cro ...

(Randleman lost to Mirko in rematch). Before his bout with Jutaro Nakao at UFC 36: Worlds Collide,

Sean Sherk Sean Keith Sherk (born August 5, 1973) is a retired American mixed martial artist and former UFC Lightweight Champion. Sherk competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and was one of the first combatants to have been a championship competitor ...

began training at Team Hammer House. Sherk went on to win against Nakao and

Benji Radach Benji Russell Radach (born April 5, 1979) is an American professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the middleweight division of Bellator MMA. A professional competitor since 2001, Radach has also formerly competed for the UFC, th ...

at UFC 39: The Warriors Return before facing Matt Hughes for the

UFC Welterweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

at UFC 42: Sudden Impact. Although the fight was close, Sherk lost via unanimous decision. One of Coleman's opponents at UFC 10: The Tournament,

, become a part of Team Hammer House to work on his ground skills before his bout with

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...

PRIDE 15 The year 2001 is the 5th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2001 had 6 events beginning with, ''Pride 13 - Collision Course''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The ...

. Goodridge remains a member of Team Hammer House although he also trains at

American Kickboxing Academy The American Kickboxing Academy (AKA) is a martial arts gym based in San Jose, California. It is one of the pioneering schools of mixed martial arts (MMA). In 2014, AKA opened the ''AKA Thailand'' gym in Phuket, Thailand. Prominent trainers inc ...

for his kickboxing fights. Accomplished wrestler, male model and UFC star

started training with Team Hammer House, primarily fighting on PRIDE's Bushido events with success, defeating fighters such as

Ikuhisa Minowa is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler currently competing in IGF as . A professional MMA competitor since 1996, he was a longtime veteran of PRIDE and Pancrase and has also competed in other mixed martial arts promotions s ...

Yuki Kondo is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. He has officially 111 professional fights, making him one of the most experienced mixed martial artists ever. He has also competed for the UFC, PRIDE, Sengoku ...

and

Ryo Chonan is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001–2013, Chonan competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DEEP, DREAM, Pancrase, and World Victory Road. Chonan is the former DEEP Middleweight Champion and the forme ...

. Wes Sims met Coleman before his fight with

Ricardo Morais Ricardo "The Mutant" Morais is a Brazilian former mixed martial artist, who competed in Pride Fighting Championships, Jungle Fight, and Rings - MMA. Morais trained with the Banni Fight Combat Jiu-Jitsu to support, Banni Cavalcanti, even af ...

, and has fought in the UFC and

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

Rivalry with Chute Boxe

Hammer House was involved in a short melee with

Chute Boxe The Chute Boxe Academy (, ''Kick-Boxing'') is a Brazilian martial arts academy. It opened as a Muay Thai academy in 1978 in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. Head trainer Rudimar Fedrigo later expanded the program in 1991 to include other aspects of mo ...

which started at

PRIDE 31 The year 2006 was the 10th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2006 had 10 events beginning with, ''Pride 31 - Unbreakable''. Title fights Debut Pride FC fighters The f ...

after a confrontation erupted between Chute Boxe members

Wanderlei Silva Wanderlei César da Silva ( , , ; born 3 July 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist who competed in Japan's Pride Fighting Championships and the American-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He holds the record for the ...

and

Murilo Rua Murilo Milani Rua (; born May 22, 1980), also known as Ninja, is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist who fought in Pride Fighting Championships. He is the older brother of former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He is ...

, and Team Hammer House members Mark Coleman and Phil Baroni. The conflict began after Coleman pushed aside the referee who tried to restrain him from continuing his attack on an injured

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Mauricio may refer to: *Mauricio (given name) *Maurício José da Silveira Júnior (born 1988), Brazilian footballer known by the mononym Maurício *Maurício (footballer) (Maurício dos Santos Nascimento, born 1988), Brazilian footballer *216428 M ...

. Coleman's outburst could have been due to members of Chute Boxe entering the ring. Despite this, Silva and other Chute Boxe members attacked Coleman in the ring, Baroni took Silva to the ground and Wanderlei had to be restrained with a foot placed on his head.Chute Boxe-Hammer House Rivalry Reaches Boiling Point
/ref> Following the event, Coleman approached Chute Boxe to apologize, but the Chute Boxe fighters turned him away.

PRIDE 32 The Real Deal

Team Hammer House was heavily represented at Pride FC's first American show,

PRIDE 32 ''Pride 32: The Real Deal'' was a mixed martial arts event and was held by the Pride Fighting Championships. The event took place on October 21, 2006, at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background This was the first Pride event t ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

on October 21, 2006, being involved in three of the eight fights including the main event. Hammer House member

faced a now-healthy

. Rua won via kneebar submission at 2:35 of the very first round.

defeated Japanese professional

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

turned MMA fighter Yosuke Nishijima via technical submission (

kimura Kimura (written: lit. "tree village") is the 17th most common Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese novelist *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese botanist *, Japanese idol and singer *, Japanese footballer *, Japanes ...

) at 3:20 of the first round.

was given the opportunity to fight Pride's undefeated Heavyweight champion

for a second time. In a finish very similar to their first encounter, Fedor was able to apply an

armbar An armlock in grappling is a single or double joint lock that hyperextends, hyperflexes or hyperrotates the elbow joint or shoulder joint. An armlock that hyper-extends the arm is known as an armbar, and it includes the traditional armbar, pr ...

from the bottom, forcing Coleman to tap out 1:15 of the second round.

Members

10 and 11 Heavyweight tournament winner, former

Heavyweight champion/

Grand Prix 2000 tournament winner *

Branden Lee Hinkle Branden Lee Hinkle is a retired American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1998 until 2016, he competed for the UFC, RINGS, Vale Tudo Japan, Pancrase, the WEF, and the International Vale Tudo C ...

* Wes Sims *

Royce Alger Iowa Hawkeyes Royce Alger (born 1965) is an American wrestler and retired mixed martial artist. A student of wrestling icon Dan Gable, he went on to become a three-time All-American, three-time Big Ten champion, and two-time NCAA ...

External links

Sherdog Hammer House profile

Hammer House on the GymDb

References

{{MMA Team List Mixed martial arts in the United States