“The American Psycho” Stephan Bonnar is one of the most beloved superstars to ever grace the Octagon.
Initially making a name for himself by putting on a “Fight of the Year” performance in his April 2005 match up against Forrest Griffin, this bout was of course the finale of the first installment of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
From there, Bonnar made a career out of having a rock solid ground game, training under Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Carlson Gracie before his passing, and being able to withstand a seemingly impossible amount of punishment, win or lose.
On the way to a 14-7 record as a professional mixed martial artist, Bonnar beat some fighters with name recognition, such as James Irvin, Keith Jardine, Krzysztof Soszynski and Kyle Kingsbury, put up little resistance against elite competitors such as Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones.
No matter, the Indiana native was still putting on entertaining fights for the fans regardless who he was standing across from in the cage. The fact that he didn’t have the necessary skills to be a champion didn’t seem all that important, as he’d found his niche in the UFC.
At UFC 153, Bonnar was in the middle of an opportunity (and the mismatch) of a lifetime: a light heavyweight bout against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Silva’s definitive victory over Bonnar’s old adversary, Forrest Griffin, at UFC 101 showed that a size advantage meant absolutely nothing in this situation. Nevertheless, Bonnar remained confident heading into the bout, going as far to say he felt an upset coming.
The upset never came to fruition, as “The Spider” predictably left the 35-year-old American face down on the canvas before the referee intervened and called it a fight.
There’s no shame in being knocked out by Anderson, that knee to the body was vicious, even if you’ve never been knocked out before. However, this drops Bonnar to 15-8 overall as a professional fighter and just 8-7 under the UFC banner.
Should he retire for real now, after a pseudo-retirement announced this past summer. Should “The American Psycho” just play the role of the wily veteran who fights young prospects to see if they’re ready for the big show?
Or is Bonnar actually a lot better than we’re giving him credit for since Anderson Silva is just that good?
If Forrest Griffin losses to Chael Sonnen at UFC 155, as most would expect, than Griffin and Bonnar should be allowed to complete their epic trilogy before they ride off into the sunset.
Is there anyone out there who wouldn’t pay to watch that fight, even if both men are a shell of their former selves?