Former UFC champion Mark Coleman says he's 'blessed and grateful' after surviving house fire
Coleman helped get his parents out of the house, his family said.
Former UFC champion Mark Coleman said he's "blessed and grateful" to be alive while recovering in the hospital, days after his family said he helped rescue his parents from a fire at their Ohio home.
Coleman, 59, has been hospitalized since Tuesday following the early-morning fire, which broke out at his parents' home in Fremont, his family said on social media.
The mixed martial artist managed to get his mother and father safely out of the home before going back to try to save the family dog, Hammer, who ultimately died in the fire, his family said.
Authorities responding to the fire, which was reported shortly before 4 a.m. local time, were informed that all three people had gotten out of the house but one was "trying to go back to get a dog," according to an incident report from the Sandusky County Sheriff's Office.
Upon arriving at the scene, a responding deputy noticed that Coleman was "not in good shape," according to the report. His face and hands were covered in black soot and he was "coughing and having trouble breathing," the report stated. EMS took him to an ambulance, the report stated.
Coleman's daughters initially said on their GoFundMe account that their father was getting treatment to clear his lungs. On Thursday, they updated that he was now breathing on his own.
Coleman shared a photo on social media Friday of him giving a thumbs-up from his hospital bed.
"I want to first thank my higher power above," Coleman said in the Instagram post, adding that "without him, this isn't possible."
"Next I want to thank each and every one of you for the prayers, support, and generosity. I always knew I had the best fans around," the post continued. "What you have done for me and my family is truly remarkable."
The family's GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $112,000 as of Friday evening.
Coleman also thanked the doctors, nurses and hospital staff "who saved my life," adding, "I'm blessed and grateful my parents and I are walking out of this alive."
Coleman's daughters also shared an emotional video from the hospital Thursday on their GoFundMe account, in which Coleman recounted the fire at his childhood home and expressed disbelief that his parents were also OK.
"I had to make a decision," he said in the video. "I got out of my room and went to the door and it was already horrible, I couldn't breathe. I almost had to go outside."
"I got them, but I couldn't find Hammer," he said.
Coleman called the dog his "sidekick" and "best friend."
"We spent every day together and I will miss him so much," he said on Instagram on Friday.
The home is a total loss, his daughters said.
According to the incident report, Coleman's mother told the responding deputy that her son had awakened her and her husband to let them know the house was on fire. His parents were uninjured, according to the report.
Coleman's mother reportedly told the deputy that she believed the fire started in the kitchen "due to her leaving the stove on," according to the report.
ABC News has reached out to the Ballville Volunteer Fire Department for an update on the cause of the fire but did not immediately receive a response.
Coleman, aka "The Hammer," was the UFC heavyweight champion in 1997. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008.
Prior to his UFC career, he was an NCAA wrestling champion at Ohio State and competed in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics on the U.S. wrestling team.
