Sometimes when a mixed martial arts fight ends abruptly, it means a fighter has suffered a freak injury. Every once in a while, the final bell does not mean the fighting has ceased. When these two circumstances play out in the same contest, the bout can be a topic of discussion many years later.

Such was the case at Pride 31 between Mark Coleman and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on this day 12 years ago at Saitama Super Arena near Tokyo.

Riding an incredible streak of wins against the likes of Quinton Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona, Rua next stared down the barrel of a former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight king and Pride Fighting Championships open-weight tournament winner in Coleman.



Former Sherdog reporter Jason Nowe documented the happenings in a dateline recap from the venue:

TOKYO, Feb. 26 -- After a string of unbelievable shows, Pride 31 didn’t seem like the strongest offering that Dream Stage Entertainment has ever put forth. On paper, this show appeared a little lackluster. But Sunday evening at the Saitama Super Arena this event really delivered the goods.

Perhaps the most anticipated match-up of the evening was the bout between Chute Boxe fighter Mauricio Rua and Mark Coleman .

The stakes were high, with the winner of the bout gaining a berth into the upcoming Pride Open Weight Grand Prix. Moving up a weight class, “Shogun” was actually heavier than his American counterpart, tipping the scales at 227 pounds, whereas Coleman came in at 224.

After avoiding a big kick from “Shogun” right off the opening bell, Coleman charged into a clinch and managed to quickly get around to Rua’s back, only to see the Chute Boxe fighter roll and offer a solid triangle attempt. From here Coleman picked up the young Brazilian a la “Rampage” Jackson -- though not as dramatically -- and slammed him to the mat to escape the technique.

Upon losing the triangle, Rua grabbed on to Coleman’s leg, searching for a kneebar before transitioning to a toehold. “The Hammer” fended off the technique, getting to his feet and taking “Shogun” down just as the Chute Boxe fighter was off-balance.

On his way down, Rua twisted to face the mat and landed hard on his right arm. Upon impact, the Brazilian fighter’s elbow contorted a strange angle. Instantly seeing that something was wrong with Rua’s arm, the referee came charging in, pushing Coleman off the top of Shogun and calling an end to the fight at the 49-second mark.

This is where things reach a boiling point.

With the referee still holding Coleman, Chute Boxe members come charging to the ring to protect their teammate. In the flash of an eye, amongst the hordes of managers, trainers, PRIDE officials, judges, referees and security people all in the ring trying to separate everyone, Wanderlei Silva charged into the ring and went after Coleman. Then in the next instant, Coleman training partner Phil Baroni went after Silva.

As this chaotic scene unfolded, doctors attended to “Shogun” as he screamed in pain. The injury looked horrific on the reply -- his right arm bent at a disturbingly unnatural angle at his elbow.

Backstage in his post-fight interview, Coleman stated that the whole melee happened in the heat of the moment and that he didn’t blame the Chute Boxe team for coming in and backing their fighter. He then added that similar to Chute Boxe, Hammer House is also like a family, and thanked Baroni for coming in and watching his back.

Reflecting on what happened years later, former Sherdog.com blogger Jake Rossen paid tribute to the moment in a post titled The 10 Greatest Post-Fight Meltdowns:

3. Coleman vs. Chute Boxe (Pride 31, Feb. 26, 2006)

In what could be best described as the twilight of his career, a then-42-year-old Coleman was expected to be little more than a sparring partner for the devastating fists and feet of Rua. Few observers expected Coleman -- who had dropped two of his last three bouts -- to provide any threat to the Brazilian's cavernous dimples.

But thanks to Rua making a rookie wrestler's mistake and posting his arm during a takedown attempt, Coleman garnered the unlikely victory. Inflamed by the outcome, both his camp and Rua's Chute Boxe team invaded the ring, clashing in a meeting of testosterone overload. By the end, Coleman had his foot planted on the neck of a downed Wanderlei Silva as Japanese officials tried to restore order.

Coleman, who is built like a silverback gorilla but probably a little stronger, can perform some truly catastrophic feats when in an agitated adrenal state. Casualties were, thankfully, minimal.