If only wealth in this life were measured by the mark one leaves on the world around them, Stephan Bonnar would have been one of the wealthiest MMA fighters to ever do it.
By now, the shock has worn off. Bonnar, a beloved pioneer of MMA’s old-school — a 15-fight UFC veteran, The Ultimate Fighter finalist, and UFC Hall of Famer — died this past Thursday, leaving behind him a community in mourning and a sport swiftly becoming far too fluent with the language of unexpected loss. A UFC statement stated that Bonnar died from heart problems while working. He was just 45 years old.
The word “legend” gets thrown around often these days, but with Bonnar, it is deserved. Bonnar was an innovator, an indispensable cog and played an important role in one of the greatest moments in the history of MMA. Few fighters owe MMA an inexorable debt of gratitude. One of them is “The American Psycho”. Without hyperbole, he helped change the game forever. He is the reason there’s a real possibility none of these things would exist today.
There is a reason UFC president Dana White, for all his bombast and revisionism, has long regarded Bonnar as being one-half of the most important fight in UFC history. When he made his octagon debut in 2005 with an all-time classic alongside Forrest Griffin, the notion of the UFC becoming a $4 billion international behemoth was ludicrous beyond reason. North American MMA was in dire straits. White, Lorenzo, and Frank Fertitta, the three-man ownership group, had made millions and millions of dollars during their five years of stewardship of the brand’s failing. It was clear that the end was near and the UFC required a miracle.
Bonnar and Griffin were that miracle.
The lovable everyonemen who saved the day in the last minute.
For a sport still haunted by accusations of “human cockfighting,” the affable light heavyweights became a guiding light when The Ultimate Fighter hit airwaves in 2005, two college-educated friends whose wit, intelligence, and charm put a more relatable face to an industry mired in claims of barbarism. TUF is often credited with salvaging a dying UFC — and it certainly kick-started the process of dispelling stigmas about MMA that had long poisoned the well of public discourse — but the reality is that Spike TV had yet to sign on for a second season by time April 9, 2005 rolled around. Had there been any other pairing in that first finale, had it been either of the show’s other semifinalists — Mike Swick or Sam Hoger — in Bonnar’s place, there’s a good chance the UFC’s first-ever event to air live on television would’ve failed to deliver the Hail Mary the moment demanded.
But MMA had to find a savior.
Seventeen years later, the back-and-forth roller-coaster of Griffin vs. Bonnar 1 still holds up.
In the sport’s first true mainstream moment for the North American audience, Griffin won the first round, Bonnar captured the second, and the third round was even, with Griffin eking out a win over the final minute in a decision that could’ve gone either way — all while live viewership numbers skyrocketed. Here were two regular men with regular jobs baring their souls on national television in a gladiatorial effort to change their lives forever.
How could you resist being captivated by this?
Spike TV agreed to host a second season TUF on the same night. Officials left the arena shortly thereafter. The UFC signed a long-term broadcast contract with Spike TV. One week later, with the buzz of Bonnar and Griffin’s heroics still bouncing around the mainstream ecosystem, UFC 52 set a new mark for the company’s live gate and shattered its buyrate record with more than 280,000 buys on pay-per-view. After the rocket ship had been strapped and gassed, it was ready to go.
Bonnar’s loss had become the sport’s gain — and the UFC never looked back.
“It was kind of a little lesson,” Bonnar reflected in 2021. “If you never quit, you really can’t fail. That was the perfect example of that. You can give it all you have .”
and it will produce something great
The cold reality is that MMA is a sport with no sense of its history, especially for fighters who never capture a major title. And sadly, Bonnar did not get to enjoy the fruits of his labor as much as others in that early orbit. Bonnar was a popular fan favourite throughout his UFC career. He even played a role as a commentator on some of the greatest moments in MMA history, including the WEC’s Showtime Kick against Benson Henderson. His incredulous call of Anthony Pettis’ Showtime Kick on Benson Henderson in the waning minutes of WEC 53 remains one of the best ever. He was a champion against both future and former champs — Griffin, Rashad Evans and Jon Jones — but it’s no secret that his last years were hard.
MMA is not kind to its fading legends. In retirement there isn’t a pension fund, nor is there any health insurance. There’s no protection for the future. Bonnar was there firsthand. But his legacy is still one that transcends wins or belts or money. He is a seismic part of the sport’s fabric, a main player in the book of MMA, one of few fighters who can take direct credit for the sport finding its mainstream life. Many generations of fighters and fans can trace their passion back to the fateful TV debut.
Stephan Bonnar might be too young, but it is our responsibility to make sure his memory doesn’t fade away.
After all he did for MMA it’s what we can do.
Source: https://www.mmafighting.com/2022/12/27/23527068/stephan-bonnars-importance-to-mma-must-never-be-forgotten?rand=96749
