Coleman: Induct Randleman into the Hall of Fame

Former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman was inducted into two wings of the UFC Hall of Fame on Sunday. However, his thoughts were not on personal glory, but on former Hammer House teammate and fellow former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman, who passed away in February at just 44 years old.

“One of my best friends, my teammate, my training partner, Kevin ‘The Monster’ Randleman, he’s not with us,” said Coleman through the tears, as transcribed by Shaun Al-Shatti for MMA Fighting. “But he deserves to be up here right now instead of me. So get him in here, UFC. Get him in the Hall of Fame, man.”

Coleman followed up in an interview with the media.

“His actions and his highlights and his record and what he accomplished speaks for itself,” said Coleman. “There is no reason why Kevin shouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame. None. You see the outreach from the whole world who loves him. It’s simple. He should be in the Hall of Fame. He deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.”

“We lived together, wrestled together. We fought together, and just enjoyed it. Did we fight back and forth? Of course we did. That’s what guys do. But we just loved and respected each other, and I miss him. I miss him bad. I hope they get in him into the Hall of Fame here soon. He deserves it.”

“I just push it. You’re not going to speak to anybody directly. They know. They know about Kevin Randleman and it’ll happen. It has to. Look at what he did. Look at what he did in his career. It’ll happen. I just think the sooner the better. It’ll happen sometime, but I’d rather see sooner than later.”