On Saturday night, Stephan Bonnar will step into the Octagon against Anderson Silva with the opportunity of a lifetime.
Bonnar was essentially retired after his win over Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139. He said he wanted to fight someone with a lot of Twitter followers, and not an up-and-comer who he would essentially be a launching pad for.
So almost a year after his last fight, he gets a call to face Anderson Silva in a light heavyweight fight in the main event of UFC 153 in Brazil. That was understandably enough to pull Bonnar out of retirement and back into the cage.
Bonnar knows this will be his last fight ever.
This is his swan song, and he’s going to go out on top, pulling off the upset of the century over Anderson Silva.
MMA Junkie has Bonnar as a 13-to-1 underdog—the biggest underdog in UFC history. The two other biggest underdogs in UFC history were Matt Serra against Georges St-Pierre and Vitor Belfort against Jon Jones.
Serra knocked out St-Pierre, and Belfort nearly submitted Jones in the first round. No matter how big an underdog, they always stand a chance.
And speaking of standing a chance, Bonnar‘s iron chin gives him the best chance to remain standing against Silva.
Bonnar has never been knocked out in his career—except for two losses to cuts—and Silva will not be the first to knock him out.
For a full 15 minutes, Silva will find himself in a fight against an opponent who has more heart than any opponent he has faced in the past. Bonnar has a never-say-die attitude, and will never stop coming forward against Silva.
Bonnar will always have a chance to land a big punch, a big kick, a solid takedown or grab a limb and submit Silva. Bonnar has a black belt in BJJ, an iron chin, a wealth of experience and a huge heart.
Bonnar is primed to pull off the upset of the century and shake the entire MMA world.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @TimMcTiernan.
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