Mark Coleman hospitalized after saving parents from house fire

UFC legend Mark Coleman is "battling for his life" after rescuing his parents from a house fire Tuesday morning, his daughter wrote in an Instagram post.

Morgan Coleman said her 59-year-old father was able to get both of his parents out of the house and was subsequently life-flighted to a hospital. He was unable to save his dog, Hammer.

"Our father has always been our hero and means the world to us," Morgan wrote. "He is and always will be a fighter. The strongest and bravest man I know. Please continue to pray for him and our family during this extremely difficult time. We will miss our sweet Hammer so deeply."

On a GoFundMe page set up to help with Coleman's recovery, Morgan explained how her father was visiting his parents at his childhood home when the fire broke out. He was alerted to the fire after being woken up by his dog at 4 a.m.

As of Wednesday afternoon, more than $27,000 had been raised through the GoFundMe campaign.

Coleman, a native of Fremont, Ohio, became the first UFC heavyweight champion in 1997 after defeating Dan Severn. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2008 and retired five years later with a 16-10 record.