With a ton of hullabaloo surrounding this Saturday’s heavyweight tilt between Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin, especially now that Wanderlei Silva is no longer competing (anytime you lose an “Axe Murderer” people are going to be pissed), the rematch between Krzyzstof Soszynski and Stephan Bonnar may be getting a little lost in the shuffle. Their first tilt in February was pretty good, until of course, the referee shat the bed (the fight ending cut on Bonnar occurred as a result of an accidental head butt and not a punch)
Since competing on TUF 8 Soszynski has performed pretty well (aside from a UD loss to Brandon Vera) and although a loss to Bonnar wouldn’t be catastrophic, it might put him on the bubble. Bonnar has lost three in a row, however, and although the defeat to Soszynski doesn’t really count, the former TUF star lost to Mark Coleman and Jon Jones before that. One loss was kind of expected, the other…not so much.
Of course, due to Bonnar’s starring role in the fight that ‘changed it all’, Dana White has stated in the past that both Bonnar and Forrest Griffin will always have a home with the UFC. This is likely why in a recent interview with MMA Fighting Mr. Soszynski stated:
“I have a feeling that’s why all the pressure’s on me,” Soszynski said. “He’s got a home. He’s never going to leave the UFC. If he’s one of Dana White’s boys, then I’m the one that has to win this fight. He’s got a job, he’s got nothing to worry about. If I lose to Stephan Bonnar, I might lose my job.”
To bet on Saturday’s fights head here.