Tag: Stephan Bonnar

Silva vs. Bonnar: Stephan Bonnar Will Pull off the Upset of the Century

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…

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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Silva vs Bonnar: Anderson Silva Will Wreck Stephan Bonnar

Tomorrow, Anderson Silva will move up to light heavyweight for the third time in his UFC career to face off against Ultimate Fighter alumni, Stephan Bonnar. Silva stepped up for this fight against Bonnar when both the main and co-main events of UFC 153…

Tomorrow, Anderson Silva will move up to light heavyweight for the third time in his UFC career to face off against Ultimate Fighter alumni, Stephan Bonnar. Silva stepped up for this fight against Bonnar when both the main and co-main events of UFC 153 went down within several hours of each other.

This is being heralded as one of the biggest mismatches in UFC history, and Bonnar is going off at as much as a 13-to-1 underdog. People are saying that Silva is going to destroy Bonnar, and that this will be a terrible beatdown, on the level of Silva against Forrest Griffin.

I’m here to tell you that that’s exactly what’s going to happen, and Anderson Silva is going to wreck Stephan Bonnar.

Silva has arguably the best striking in MMA history, and is also, arguably, the greatest fighter of all time. Bonnar has never really been much more than a gatekeeper in the light heavyweight division. The majority of his fame comes from the legendary battle he had against Forrest Griffin at the finale of the first season of The Ultimate Fighter.

Every legitimate defeat Bonnar has suffered—ignoring the loss to Krzysztof Soszynski from a cut—has been to a past or future UFC champion. He falters against the top tier competition, and Saturday night will prove no different.

Expect this fight to look like Silva against Griffin. The only difference is the fact that Bonnar has a better chin, and that may prove to be a problem against Silva.

Instead of getting knocked out early like Griffin did, Bonnar may suffer an absolute beating of epic proportions. Because of Bonnar‘s chin, he could go 15 minutes with Silva, whilst suffering an absolute beatdown.

He will always be in the fight, and he’ll always have a chance to throw a big haymaker that could put down Silva, but for the most part, expect Silva to dominate Bonnar.

 

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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UFC 153: Uh….What If Stephan Bonnar Beats Anderson Silva This Weekend?

There has been a lot of criticism lately about UFC matchmaking. The biggest transgression was booking Stephan Bonnar to face the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world: Anderson Silva. Fans and media almost immediately hit the net to air their …

There has been a lot of criticism lately about UFC matchmaking. The biggest transgression was booking Stephan Bonnar to face the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world: Anderson Silva. Fans and media almost immediately hit the net to air their grievances, and in some cases they were pretty harsh. 

They view Bonnar as a fighter who made it to a certain level of success, but was never able to get over the hump to super stardom. To some extent, they are correct. In his UFC run, Bonnar never captured light heavyweight gold.

Instead, he has been in a handful of memorable matches, won because he’s the perfect mixture of technical prowess and grit. He’s willing to trade punches in order to take advantage of his opponents’ lack of toughness. 

When it comes to pedigree, there’s few in the light heavyweight division that can match “the American Psycho.” Years learning under Carlson Gracie ensured that he would be one of the most capable fighters on the mat and his Golden Gloves experience means that his punches actually pack some power. 

What I’m saying is that while everyone is writing off Bonnar, I think he has what it takes to actually upset the UFC middleweight champ. I’d go as far as to say that Stephan Bonnar is a live dog in this fight. 

It’s been pretty obvious if you’ve followed the narrative that Bonnar came out of retirement for this fight. He needed a fight to motivate him to get back into a fighting mindset. He got it in Silva and quite frankly, I think too many people are writing him off. 

Very few fighters ever attain “champion” status and even fewer will ever put together the type of career of Stephan Bonnar. Sure, he’s come up short against top fighters, but he also pushed them harder than other fighters. 

Which brings us back to the question: What if Stephan Bonnar beats Anderson Silva on Saturday?

The UFC has plans for Anderson Silva that include the much sought after bout against Georges St. Pierre and a possible superfight with Jon Jones. They have spent millions building up the legend of Anderson Silva. 

So what happens if Silva is outclassed by Stephan Bonnar? What happens to not just the legacy of Anderson Silva but all those potentially lucrative match ups?

I hope that Bonnar isn’t writing himself off in this match up. This could be the type of springboard he needs to get motivated again to fight. He could play spoiler and use Anderson Silva’s name to reestablish his career. 

Don’t sleep on the “American Psycho”. He always has a fighting shot. I hope we see it on Saturday night. 

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Catch the UFC 153 Weigh-Ins Right Here Starting at 3 p.m. EST [UPDATED w/RESULTS]


(It was at the UFC 153 pre-fight press conference that Stephan Bonnar revealed his true gameplan to defeat Anderson: G.T.L.) 

All the fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 153 event are scheduled to hit the scales starting at 3 p.m. EST this afternoon from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so make sure to swing by the Tater to check out all the intense, barely-clothed staredowns you could ever ask for. Did that come off as gay? Because we didn’t mean for it to come off as gay; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Anyway, a string of injuries (go figure) and a good old fashioned case of hepatitis have dramatically altered the face of UFC 153, leaving us with a main event matchup that, when viewed through an incredibly narrow and skewed lens, is almost plausible. So swing by this afternoon to see whether or not Stephan Bonnar will piss himself after he realizes just how big of a mistake he has actually made, whether or not Anderson Silva will come dressed as a Jabbawockee again, and whether or not the Brazilian audience will still be donning their “I fucked Chael Sonnen Last Night” t-shirts. Also, be sure to swing by tomorrow at 10 p.m. EST for our official liveblog of all the action!


(It was at the UFC 153 pre-fight press conference that Stephan Bonnar revealed his true gameplan to defeat Anderson: G.T.L.) 

All the fighters for tomorrow night’s UFC 153 event are scheduled to hit the scales starting at 3 p.m. EST this afternoon from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so make sure to swing by the Tater to check out all the intense, barely-clothed staredowns you could ever ask for. Did that come off as gay? Because we didn’t mean for it to come off as gay; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Anyway, a string of injuries (go figure) and a good old fashioned case of hepatitis have dramatically altered the face of UFC 153, leaving us with a main event matchup that, when viewed through an incredibly narrow and skewed lens, is almost plausible. So swing by this afternoon to see whether or not Stephan Bonnar will piss himself after he realizes just how big of a mistake he has actually made, whether or not Anderson Silva will come dressed as a Jabbawockee again, and whether or not the Brazilian audience will still be donning their “I fucked Chael Sonnen Last Night” t-shirts. Also, be sure to swing by tomorrow at 10 p.m. EST for our official liveblog of all the action!

MAIN CARD
-Anderson Silva (202) vs. Stephan Bonnar (205)
–Fabio Maldonado (203) vs. Glover Teixeira (204)
–Dave Herman (244) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (243)
–Jon Fitch (170) vs. Erick Silva (169)
–Phil Davis (206) vs. Wagner Prado (204)
–Demian Maia (170) vs. Rick Story (170)

PRELIMINARY CARD (FX 8PM ET)
-Rony “Jason” Mariano Bezerra (145) vs. Sam Sicilia (146)
–Gleison Tibau (155) vs. Francisco Trinaldo (154)
–Diego Brandao (144) vs. Joey Gambino (146)
-Renee Forte (169) vs. Sergio Moraes (169)

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook 7PM ET)
-Chris Camozzi (185) vs. Luiz Cane (184)
-Reza Madadi (155) vs. Cristiano Marcello (155)

Notes:
-Make sure to catch Madadi vs. Marcello on the FB prelims, because their staredown nearly erupted into a Strikeforcian brawl.

-Joey Gambino has a tattoo of a cage going halfway around his torso. Just thought that needed mentioning. Also, he’s a dead man.

-Erick Silva is a BEAST. Dude looks like the cartel leader’s henchman from every Brazilian gang movie ever made.

-What the fuck was that one kid in the Silva/Gracie train doing? Because it looked like he was crying. He was definitely crying. Must have been related to Stephan.

–J. Jones

UFC 153: A Fan’s Guide to Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar Fight Card

Since the UFC’s first outing in Brazil under the Zuffa banner in August of last year, the promoters have fallen in love with the place. This Saturday, UFC 153 will mark Zuffa’s third pay-per-view event in the country in 2012 alone, and the second…

Since the UFC’s first outing in Brazil under the Zuffa banner in August of last year, the promoters have fallen in love with the place.

This Saturday, UFC 153 will mark Zuffa‘s third pay-per-view event in the country in 2012 alone, and the second time visiting the HSBC arena in Rio De Janeiro, when Jose Aldo and Anderson Silva inspired a wave of MMA fanaticism in this otherwise soccer-mad country.

And, despite all the injuries that are now de rigueur for any UFC event, it’s an electrifying card throughout.

That might be hard to swallow considering the main event. The fight between Anderson Silva and Stephan Bonnar, seems like little more than an exhibition match—a three-rounder with nothing at stake.

But the card is replete with Brazilian talent, some old, some new, and intriguing matchups from the bottom to the top.

Here’s a fan’s guide to the entire card.

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UFC 153 Fight Card: 5 Reasons to Root for Stephan Bonnar

Does it make sense to cheer for Stephan Bonnar?He’s an almost comical underdog against Anderson Silva, to the point that even official UFC 153 commercials lampshade how outgunned he is in comparison to the dominant Brazilian.Moreover, Bonnar can barely…

Does it make sense to cheer for Stephan Bonnar?

He’s an almost comical underdog against Anderson Silva, to the point that even official UFC 153 commercials lampshade how outgunned he is in comparison to the dominant Brazilian.

Moreover, Bonnar can barely be considered an elite light heavyweight fighter, as he’s never beaten a top-tier opponent once in his entire MMA career.

He didn’t earn this match. He just volunteered himself as a willing target to save a destroyed main event. By all rights, we shouldn’t even be talking about Bonnar this weekend. Still, there are those who will root for him.

Why should you? Why should anyone cheer for someone in Bonnar’s position?

As it turns out, there’s actually five good reasons—legitimate, non-crazy reasons—to root for “The American Psycho” when he enters enemy territory in Brazil this Saturday.

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