UFC 109 - Mark Coleman's life just another challenge for Randy Couture

Mark Coleman and Randy Couture have 91 years between them when they step into the octagon for the main event of UFC 109 this Saturday. But the former champions are in two completely different places in career arc.

Couture (17-10 MMA, 14-7 UFC), 46, is a five-time UFC champion and a promotional institution. He's seen more big-time fights than anyone, and he's been at the highest levels of the sport longer than anyone else. He's not going anywhere unless he says otherwise.

Coleman (16-9 MMA, 7-4 UFC), 45, is a three-time UFC champion from the "human cockfighting" days of the promotion and the author of a once-dominant style. He's admittedly let the sport pass him by to raise a family. He hasn't truly beaten a top-name opponent in 10 years. A victory over Couture could give him his 10th life in the fight game.

"Personally, there's a lot on the line for me," Coleman said. "[It's] just by far the biggest fight ever."

The event takes place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, and it marks the first time two UFC Hall of Fame inductees meet inside the octagon.

The bout is significant because Coleman and Couture are anomalies in MMA; most fighters expire, so to speak, in their mid-to-late 30s. This past August, Couture signed a new seven-fight deal that could conceivably take him into his 50s. He's done anything but take it slow; instead, he booked three fights in six months. Coleman returned to the UFC this past January at UFC 93 after a nearly two-year absence and looked every bit his age. But he delivered a stunning rebound – the product, he said, of a focused training camp – at UFC 100 when he defeated Stephan Bonnar in an upset victory.

They are both comeback kids.

But Couture fights more out of enjoyment than necessity. He has leveraged his celebrity into a variety of successful side businesses. Coleman, on the other hand, said he is only able to focus on one thing and needs a paycheck. "The Hammer" has a lot more to lose – and a lot more to win.

Coutersy of MMAJUNKIE.com