Bonnar Says he Felt ‘Guilty’ Not Brawling with Pokrajac

(Props: MMA Weekly)
Can’t exactly blame Stephan Bonnar for showing up at the postfight press conference of the “TUF 12” finale this weekend looking like the cat that ate the balding, 6-foot-tall Croatian canary. Something tells me …

(Props: MMA Weekly)

Can’t exactly blame Stephan Bonnar for showing up at the postfight press conference of the “TUF 12” finale this weekend looking like the cat that ate the balding, 6-foot-tall Croatian canary. Something tells me Bonnar isn’t great with secrets, but leading up to his co-main event bout with Igor Pokrajac he did a pretty good job keeping a lid on the fact he wasn’t going to go out there and fight like the same, old swing-for-the-fences “American Psycho” we’ve all come to know, love and worry about. Nope, Bonnar looked every bit the smart and savvy vet in there on Saturday and the result was a unanimous decision win. Weird, huh?

“Everyone expected me to brawl,” says a half proud, half sheepish Bonnar in the above vid. “I knew what I was going to do, but I kind of let on that I was going to brawl. I feel sneaky, I feel surreptitious. It feels good, though. I felt a little guilty out there for not going toe-to-toe but hey, I got the win.”

Indeed. Also, someone should tell Bonnar that it’s not “sneaky” to analyze your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses in order to devise a strategy you think gives you the best chance to win. That’s just called, you know, professional fighting.

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In Case You’re Wondering: Yes, Stephan Bonnar Worries About Getting Punched in the Head So Much

("Get the fuck out of here, a movie with Christina Aguilera *and* Cher?!?!" PicProps: KTFOMMA.com)
Stephan Bonnar is a man of many talents, among them: Producing insane slugfests, being the subject of terrifying GIFs and offering fair-to-dece…


("Get the fuck out of here, a movie with Christina Aguilera *and* Cher?!?!" PicProps: KTFOMMA.com)

Stephan Bonnar is a man of many talents, among them: Producing insane slugfests, being the subject of terrifying GIFs and offering fair-to-decent color commentary on broadcasts the UFC doesn’t deem too important. For a professional fighter, you might say dude is of above average intelligence. Smart, even.  Granted, over the last couple of years Bonnar’s talents have not necessarily included winning more fights than he’s lost, but even after going 1-3 during 2009-10 his job security has never truly been in doubt. Why? Because he’s done the UFC a couple of solids over the years and because he can always be counted on to turn in a good show for the fans.

But we have to ask: Isn’t being a guy the company and viewers consistently expect to sacrifice his own body in the name of their personal entertainment both a blessing and a curse? Doesn’t Bonnar ever worry that the bill for all of these wars in the cage might unexpectedly show up somewhere later in life in the form of, say, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and/or dementia? That he might become one of those tottering old men who insists on calling his grandson by the name of his long dead brother and spends his one hour a day away from the retirement home wandering aimlessly through the women’s underwear section at JC Penny? Why yes, Bonnar admits on Wednesday during this interview with MMA Fighting. Yes, he does wonder about that. 

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