Mark Coleman has been here before. No, not in Dublin - he's never been there before. But facing stiff odds overseas against a younger, highly touted opponent? He's made an entire career of it.

In fact, 13 of his 23 professional fights have been outside of the United States. From 1999 - 2006, Coleman fought almost exclusively for PRIDE FC, and made quite a name for himself in the Land of the Rising Sun.

You don't have to have English as your first language for "The Hammer" to want to punch you in the face.

On Saturday, January 17 at UFC 93, Coleman will face one of the toughest challenges of his career. And ironically enough, it will be against a man he's already beaten.

At PRIDE 31 back in 2006, Coleman was matched up against a Brazilian that many were considering the best light heavyweight on the planet, despite the fact that he wore no championship belt.

With just 13 fights to his name, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua had practically walked through an entire division, defeating the likes of Ricardo Arona, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Alistair Overeem and Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira.

But at "Unbreakable," the PRIDE 2005 Light Heavyweight Grand Prix champion succumbed to one of Coleman's trademarked double-leg takedowns early in round one. Falling awkwardly, he dislocated his elbow and brought a halt to the match, awarding a shocking victory to "The Hammer," a competitor many had already written off as being long past his prime.

Post-fight mayhem ensued when Chute Box stormed the ring to protect the injured Rua. A pumped-up and screaming Coleman was intercepted by Rua's older brother Murilo and then Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. Mild-mannered Coleman stablemate Phil Baroni threw his hat into the ring and well, it's probably better if you just YouTube it.

Suffice it to say Team Hammer House and Chute Boxe haven't been on each other's Christmas card mailing lists for quite a while. They have however, been waiting for a rematch.

Enter UFC 93.

On January 17, Coleman (15-8) will face Rua (16-3) once again, in front of thousands of screaming Irishmen at the O2 Arena in Dublin.

Hopefully they have tight security.

We caught up with Coleman right before he jetted over to the birthplace of Guinness to ask him his thoughts on the fight, how important a win is at this stage in his career, and if he thinks "Shogun" is overrated.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You were supposed to fight Brock Lesnar at UFC 87 but had to pull out with an injury. Is that a missed opportunity you would have liked to have - a shot at Lesnar when he's green?

Mark Coleman: Yeah, any time you miss a fight of that magnitude, it's a huge missed opportunity - especially at my age. It was very disappointing. It would have been one hell of a challenge, but something I was definitely looking forward to.

I'm not going to complain. I've been pretty lucky throughout my career. Injuries happen, and that's just the way it went.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Were you surprised that Lesnar went on to beat Randy Couture for the Heavyweight strap?

Mark Coleman: No, not really. I've always said that size does matter, and that's one very big guy. I anticipated Randy having a lot of problems with him.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): You're set to fight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93 in Dublin. Do you look forward to fighting overseas in Ireland?

Mark Coleman: I've been fighting overseas for the last eight years, but yeah, I'm just excited to be fighting. I've never been to Ireland, so I think that could be pretty neat to go over there. I know they got some great fight fans over in Ireland.

I would prefer to fight in the United States, but I don't pick or choose where I fight or when I fight. I'm just excited to be fighting, and I think it'll be a great fight. They're known to have great fight fans over there, so it should be a special night.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): This is your first fight since being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Is there any added pressure to come out on top?

Mark Coleman: I remember Quinton Jackson telling me about coming back to the UFC, and mentioning the pressure of fighting for the UFC. I'm definitely feeling the same way. It's huge fighting back here in America, and where the UFC exploded so big. I'm trying to keep my emotions in check and trying to keep myself mentally strong.

I definitely feel the pressure, and I'm going to have to deal with it. But then, that's what I've been doing all my life is facing pressure, so I'll have to handle it, and I expect to.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): This fight is a rematch from PRIDE 31, where you obviously got the TKO victory, and Rua got the elbow injury. Does that make this fight mean anything more to you, the fact that there's a history there, some unfinished business?

Mark Coleman: No, I think because we've already fought once, and "Shogun" has decided to make the fight personal, and everything involved in the whole situation definitely makes it a little more important to me. It's not personal to me ... Well, because he's made it personal, I've had to make it personal. But really, he's just another opponent - a very good one at that. But I just need to win this fight to keep my career going.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): I read that you'd like to keep it standing, if possible. Is that true?

Mark Coleman: Well we'll see what happens. I've been planning on keeping a fight standing for a long time. It's just once a fight starts, it seems that my wrestling instincts just take over. But I have been working on my standup, and I wouldn't mind trying to trade with him - especially for the fans. I'm sure they'd like to see us trade.

But if it ain't going so well on our feet, certainly my bread and butter is going to be taking him to the ground and trying to ground and pound him. But I would like to try to stay on my feet, yeah.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Should you want to take him down, do you think you'll be able to at will?

Mark Coleman: If I decide to take him down, I'll take him down.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Strength-wise, I've heard you mention that you feel you definitely have the strength advantage on him. Can you comment a bit on that?

Mark Coleman: Well, I did last time, that's for sure. Hopefully cutting down to 205 doesn't take away too much of my strength. So far, I still feel pretty good. Actually the weight's coming off a little easier than I thought. I do anticipate having the advantage in the strength area, which is important, because that's one area that I do have an advantage over him.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Did you bring in a nutritionist or anything like that to help you make weight?

Mark Coleman: No, I've been reading about nutrition all my life. Basically, back when I fought at heavyweight back in the day in the UFC, I really wasn't following a strict diet because I needed to be big. I needed to be heavy, so I really didn't eat that clean. But I was carrying around way too much extra fat and extra muscle.

Phil Baroni is the one that kinda convinced me that I ... he basically said I eat like a pig. At first we had a nice little argument, but I went home that night and absorbed what he was telling me and realized he was right. So after having a talk with him, I changed to eating completely clean, and the fat came off, and I feel like I'm a better athlete because of it.

It's really not that scientific, dieting. To me it's pretty simple knowing what you should be eating and what you shouldn't be eating. A lot of it is common sense.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): Before he came to the UFC and lost to Forrest Griffin, some had called Rua the best light heavyweight on the planet. Do you think he was overrated?

Mark Coleman: Well he had a heck of a run over there in Japan. He beat some good guys and performed very well. So maybe at the time he deserved that ranking. But in this sport your ranking can slip very quickly. Injuries and other aspects of your life - you know, fighters do have lives - and maybe some other things became more important to "Shogun," and you add the injuries in there, it'll take its toll on anybody.

So I think he's a great fighter, but to be the best, sometimes things have to go your way, and I think lately he's had a little bit of bad luck on his side.

Adam Wagner (MMAmania.com): As a fan I'd like to say welcome back, and good luck on January 17. Would you like to thank any sponsors or do you have any parting words for your fans about what they can expect to see at UFC 93?

Mark Coleman: I definitely need to thank CageFighter, MMAAuthentics and MMAElite. Without those guys, this comeback probably would have been much more difficult. They've helped me stay in the game financially and given me the ability to train for this fight. So I have to thank them big time.

Also, I'd like to thank my Aunt Mary and my late Uncle Ray, who have been helping me out my whole career when I ran into some troubles. And thanks to my mother and father and my kids. I want to thank my team, Team Hammer House, for all their moral support and their support in the training camp.

And most importantly, I'd like to thank the fans because they just really have been so kind and so supportive of me, and I really do appreciate it. I always have fought for the fans, and I always will.