Bonnar began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie during the summer of 1999, under whom he received his purple belt. Bonnar also trained in Muay Thai during several trips to Thailand. Since the beginning of 2010 Bonnar trained in Muay Thai in Las Vegas under Master One Kick Nick Blomgren at One Kick's Gym.[8]
Due to his strong performance in the Light Heavyweight finals, where he lost a unanimous decision to Forrest Griffin in a back and forth fight, Bonnar was awarded a six-figure UFC contract along with Griffin. After his loss to Griffin, Bonnar became the staple of the regular UFC Ultimate Fight Night shows at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, defeating such notables as Sam Hoger, James Irvin and Keith Jardine before succumbing to Rashad Evans by majority decision. In 2006 Bonnar lost a unanimous decision against Forrest Griffin in the long-anticipated rematch at UFC 62. After UFC 62, Bonnar tested positive for the banned substance Boldenone, a type of anabolic steroid. The commission issued a nine-month suspension on Bonnar's fighter's license and fined him $5,000.[9]
Bonnar in 2007.
Bonnar was forced to withdraw from his fight against Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night 13 due to a serious knee injury he suffered during training. He returned to action at UFC 94 against Jon Jones, which resulted in a loss via decision. In his next fight at UFC 100 Bonnar lost a unanimous decision to Mark Coleman.[10]
Bonnar mentioned on the MMA Live Post Fight Show for UFC 101 that he was considering a drop down to Middleweight after two disappointing losses at Light Heavyweight. Despite this, Bonnar next faced Krzysztof Soszynski on February 21, 2010, at UFC 110.[11] Soszynski was victorious at 1:04 in the third round, due to TKO (Cut). Video replays that showed that the cut was opened up by a clash of heads led Bonnar to appeal referee John Sharp's decision. It was announced on March 10 that he had lost the appeal and the result would stand as a TKO win for Soszynski.[12]
At UFC 116, Bonnar won the rematch with a second-round TKO against Soszynski after catching him with a knee. The win broke Bonnar's three fight losing streak, bringing his UFC record to 6-6. The fight earned Bonnar and Soszynski Fight of the Night honors alongside Yoshihiro Akiyama and Chris Leben's fight.[13]
Bonnar was expected to face Karlos Vemola on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5.[16] However, Bonnar was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury and was replaced by Ronny Markes.[17]
Bonnar faced Kyle Kingsbury on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139.[18]
Bonnar defeated Kingsbury by unanimous decision (30–27, 30–25, and 30–27).[19]
With the UFC needing to replace the main event at UFC 153, they turned to Bonnar and Anderson Silva to fill the spot left empty by injuries. The two UFC vets squared off in a Light Heavyweight match October 13, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Silva won the fight via TKO. Bonnar tested positive for anabolic steroids after the fight (Drostanolone).[20] After his loss to Silva it was announced on October 30, 2012, by UFC president Dana White that Bonnar had retired from MMA competition.[21]
UFC Hall of Fame
Shortly after the announcement of Forrest Griffin's retirement, Dana White announced that Bonnar and Griffin would be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Bonnar and Griffin were officially inducted on July 6, 2013.[22]
Bellator MMA
On August 27, 2014, Bellator announced they had signed Bonnar to a multi-fight deal, seemingly coming out of retirement.[23] Bonnar faced Tito Ortiz on November 15, 2014, at Bellator 131 and lost via split decision.[24]
Thereafter, Bonnar retired for a second time.[25]
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2017–2021)
On April 8, 2017, Stephan made his pro wrestling debut at Smashmouth Pro Wrestling's event Smashfest in a Battle Royal. On August 1, 2017, House of Glory, a New York City independent wrestling company announced that Bonnar would be stepping into a wrestling ring for the first time ever to face another former UFC fighter and current pro wrestler, Matt Riddle. However, Riddle backed out and he faced Sho Tanaka from NJPW instead. On December 2, 2017, "Speedball" Mike Bailey defeated Bonnar at IWS Season's Beatings in Montreal.[26]
On September 14, 2019, Bonnar faced Moose in a losing effort at Impact Wrestling's Victory Road 2019.[28]
During the Impact Wrestling October tapings from Las Vegas, Bonnar faced Moose in a repeat of their contest from Victory Road. The rematch was used as part of Moose's buildup towards a match against
Ken Shamrock at Bound for Glory later that month. The commentators said that Bonnar had been chosen as he was from a similar background and is a similar type of wrestler to Shamrock, therefore viewed as an ideal warmup for Moose. However, Shamrock then made an unexpected appearance after Moose disqualifies himself from the match by attacking the referee, Shamrock then put Moose in his signature ankle lock.[29]
Personal life
Bonnar and his longtime girlfriend were married on October 30, 2009, in Tuscany, Italy. The couple have one son, Griffin Brandon, named after Forrest Griffin and in memory of Andrea's late brother, Brandon Brown.[30]
Bonnar was a fan of the rock band The Who and used their song "Eminence Front" as his entrance music to his UFC fights.[32] Outside of competition, Bonnar has done commentary work for televised mixed martial arts programming, notably serving as the WEC's color commentator for most of 2010, calling 5 of their final 7 cards. He has also made appearances as an analyst on the ESPN2 series MMA Live[33] and for UFC broadcasts on the Fox television networks.[34]
After retiring from the mixed martial arts, Bonnar was appointed the president of North Star Combat, a Minnesota-based MMA promotion.[35]
Legal issues
On October 28, 2018, Bonnar was arrested in Nevada and charged with DUI. At approximately 1:15 p.m., the Nevada highway patrol received multiple reports that there was a red Cadillac, a vehicle owned and being driven by Bonnar, observed driving recklessly and making unsafe lane changes. When the NHP arrived on scene, they witnessed Bonnar had both hands tied and strung up to each side of his inside car handles. The pedestrians on scene said he attempted to flee the scene of the accident, so they were forced to "hog tie" him to the inside of his wrecked vehicle. This entire exchange was recorded via the responding officer's body cam and aired on the television shows season 4 of PD Cam. Officers also claimed that they could smell alcohol on Bonnar's breath and inside of Bonnar's vehicle. Bonnar was arrested on scene, refused to comply or respond to officers commands, and had to be carried and laid inside the back of the patrol car. He was then taken to the Clark County detention center where he was charged with DUI and resisting arrest.[36]
Death
Bonnar died in Las Vegas on December 22, 2022, at the age of 45.[37][38] UFC issued a statement suggesting it was presumed that Bonnar had died of a heart complication while at work.[39][38] It was later revealed by the Clark County coroner's office that Bonnar had died from an accidental fentanyl overdose.[40]
Pokrajac had 1 point deducted at the end of round 2 for two knee strikes on a downed opponent. Bonnar had 1 point deducted at the end of round 3 for strikes to the back of the head.
