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UFC 77: Stephan Bonnar vs. Eric Schafer

The Late Master Carlson Gracie will always be missed, his impact in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is apparent all over, a presence never to be forgotten in the sport of Mixed Martial Arts, he was a very close friend & mentor to Stephan.









WATCH A TRIBUTE TO MASTER CARLSON GRACIE - THANKS JAYJITSU!

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WATCH STEPHAN IN HIS THIRD PROFESSIONAL MATCHUP AGAINST JAY MASSEY.

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STEPHAN BONNAR
Light Heavyweight
6'4, 205 lbs.
Age: 30
Munster, IN



RECORD: 11 Wins (1 TKO, 7 submissions, 2 decisions), 4 Losses (1 KO, 3 decisions), 0 Draws, 0 No

UFC HISTORY:

It was the perfect venue in which to make a comeback. The lights weren’t as bright, the media attention not as overwhelming, and Stephan Bonnar could just concentrate on the business of fighting for the first time in close to a year when he stepped into the Octagon in an off-TV fight against Mike Nickels at UFC 73 in July.

But once he rolled through his opponent in two minutes and 14 seconds, submitting Nickels with a rear naked choke, all those old feelings came back for Bonnar.

“There wasn’t as much pressure as usual and as much attention on it, so going into the fight, I guess it was nice to have it a little more low key and not under the same scrutiny,” he admitted, “but after I won quick I sure didn’t think so. Then I wanted everyone to see it.”

Unfortunately for Bonnar, that wasn’t going to be the case on a card where two pay-per-view fights went the three round distance and a third went the five round championship route.

“I remember afterwards, (UFC President) Dana (White) came up to me and he was happy for me,” said Bonnar. “He had a big smile on, and he said ‘that will be the first undercard fight we show.’ Then (Heath) Herring didn’t finish (Antonio Rodrigo) Nogueira when he had him in trouble and that went the distance, then (Sean) Sherk and (Hermes) Franca went five five minute rounds, and they didn’t even think they’d get that (Kenny) Florian fight in at the end, and they cut the show after that. The whole time I was like ‘just show it, its two minutes.’ But they didn’t, so a lot of people will think this is my big coming back fight.”

“This” is Bonnar’s UFC 77 bout on Saturday against Eric Schafer in Cincinnati. For fans watching at home, it’s the first time to see the Ultimate Fighter season one finalist in action since his rematch loss to Forrest Griffin in August of 2006. Following the fight, Bonnar was fined and suspended for testing positive for a banned substance, but with the comeback win over Nickels out of the way, Bonnar is firmly looking towards the future and Schafer - a skilled ground fighter who undoubtedly wants to take the fight to the mat. Bonnar has other ideas.

“I want to put the odds in my favor, so to speak, and his best chance of winning is on the ground and my best chance is on my feet, so if I keep it on my feet, the odds are gonna be in my favor,” he said. Plus, if the fight remains standing, Bonnar has his best shot of living up to his mantra of having only exciting fights, something that wasn’t the case when he was decisioned by Rashad Evans in June of 2006.

“After the Rashad fight I promised I’d never put the fans to sleep like that again,” he chuckles. “I felt really bad that night and I don’t know what happened. It was like I was in a trance. I felt like I was having a jiu-jitsu match, playing guard, and then the fight was over. Then it hit me – you didn’t even fight, you played jiu-jitsu. So I learned my lesson.”

The loss to Evans followed a razor-thin victory over Keith Jardine and then led to his second consecutive loss at the hands of Griffin. Bonnar seemed to be at a crossroads, but he never lost faith.

“I really didn’t dwell on it too much,” said Bonnar of the dismal second half of 2006. “It wasn’t like I got my ass kicked twice in a row. I lost two decisions and in that second fight I was a real mess – I broke my hand really bad early, and during the fight I had my corner yelling at me to throw punches, and every time I threw it, I had to run it off, and I knew it just wasn’t my night.”

Then came the suspension. But with the time off, Bonnar was able to heal and re-focus, and when he relocated from Illinois to Las Vegas earlier this year, it was like night and day for the 30-year old.

“After finding my
ad
gyms, it was pretty easy,” said Bonnar of the transition to Sin City. “It’s definitely a lot easier getting ready for a fight here than it was in Chicago. I spent so much time driving, in traffic, going from Miguel Torres’ in Northwest Indiana a couple times a week to Duke Roufus’ in Milwaukee a few times a week, to the boxing gym in Chicago and to Carlson (Gracie)’s gym. Plus, I had to set up my training. I had to call people for sparring, ‘Hey, are you gonna be there tomorrow?’ The difference here is, the three gyms I go to are within a couple mile radius of each other and all you’ve really got to do is show up and you’ve got top level guys to train with every day.”

It doesn’t hurt having a driveway in his house either, allowing him to avoid the city dwellers’ ritual of circling the block for hours looking for a parking spot safe from meter maids.

“I didn’t see it from the other side,” he said. “I didn’t know how nice and easy it was here, just showing up at the gyms and having all the training at your fingertips. It was something I had never experienced, so I really didn’t know what I was missing. I made the most of what I had and I had good camps, good trainers, and good partners, but it was just a lot more work.”

Now he has the opportunity to be in the center of the fight world daily and train with both resident fighters and out of town visitors. One of the locals he works with is an old rival, Forrest Griffin, who is currently riding high after beating Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua in September. And while Bonnar won’t go as far as to say he picked Griffin to win, he is happy for his buddy’s successful return from a 2006 loss to Jardine.

“Every fighter has his ups and downs,” said Bonnar. “That’s just part of it. You get knocked out and the next day everybody’s saying that you’re done, but you can’t really listen to that. He (Griffin) is a hard worker, he got caught by Keith and I knew he was gonna come back strong, and he did. I didn’t bet any money on him against Shogun, I was a little worried there, (Laughs) so he surprised me a little. I gave him a little congrats text, and when I talked to him, he said ‘thanks a lot, I really didn’t realize how little confidence you had in me.’”

Now it’s time for Bonnar’s own comeback story to heat up, and he’s looking for the big names at 205 pounds if he can get by Schafer this weekend.

“I’m in the mix, but you’ve always got something to prove,” he said. “That’s the good thing about fighting a big name – it’s a really good opportunity to prove yourself. You beat Nickels or Schafer, and it’s expected of me; you beat someone like Forrest just did, where everybody thinks you’re gonna lose, then you’re really on top of the world. So that would be nice, and there are so many big names out there – Tito (Ortiz) and Chuck (Liddell), and now you’ve got Rampage (Jackson), (Dan) Henderson, Wanderlei Silva. And originally I said I’d like to fight a big name like Wanderlei Silva, but he’s been at Randy’s gym training, and he’s just so scary looking. (Laughs) I look at him and I get scared. He’s scary, but so is Keith Jardine. I didn’t enjoy that staredown, but you’ve got to face your fears sometime.”

Date Result Opponent Method Event
10/20/2007 Win Eric Schaeffer Decision (Submission - TKO)
07/7/2007 Win Mike Nickels Decision (Submission -Rear Naked Choke).
8/26/2006 Lost Forrest Griffen Decision (Unaminous)
6/28/2006 Lost to Rashad Evans.
4/06/2006 Win Keith Jardine Decision (Unaminous) UFC-Ultimate Fight Night 4
1/16/2006 Win James Irvin Submission (Armbar) UFC-Ultimate Fight Night 3
8/06/2005 Win Sam Hoger Decision (Unaminous) UFC-Ultimate Fight Night
4/09/2005 Loss Forrest Griffin Decision (Unanimous) UFC-The Ultimate Fighter Finale
4/04/2005 Win Mike Swick Submission-Arm Bar Exhibition-Ultimate Fighter Reality Show
2/28/2005 Win Bobby Southworth Split Decision Exhibition-Ultimate Fighter Reality Show
6/05/2004 Win Sean Sallee Submission (Triangle Choke) IC 7-The Crucible
4/24/2004 Win William Hill TKO TFC 1-Total Fight Challenge 1
11/22/2003 Win Brad Lynde Submission (Rear Naked Choke) IC 6-Inferno
9/13/2003 Loss Ryoto Machida TKO (Cut) JF 1-Jungle Fight 1
9/07/2002 Win Terry Martin Unanimous Decision Maximum Fighting Challenge
1/27/2002 Win Jay Massey Submission (Guillotine Choke) UA 1-The Genesis
11/10/2001 Win Brian Ebersole Submission (Guillotine Choke) IC 3-Exodus
11/10/2001 Win Josh Kruger Submission (Armbar) IC 3-Exodus


STATS:

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WEIGHT CLASS: Light Heavyweight

AGE: 30

HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6'4"/205 lbs

BIRTHPLACE: Munster, IN

NICKNAME: The American Psycho

STYLE: Boxing/Jiu-Jitsu/Tae Kwon Do

PROFESSIONAL MMA RECORD: 10-2

FIGHTING OUT OF: Chicago, IL

BIO:

Born in Hammond, IN. Stephan has loved the art of fighting since childhood.

"I can recall getting into a fight on my first day of preschool. I wasn't a bully, nor have I ever started fights. They just seem to find me."

Growing up, he was fascinated with Bruce Lee, pro wrestling and boxing.

He began wrestling at ten, and Tae Kwon Do at thirteen. Earning his Tae Kwon Do black belt, at the age of sixteen.

As a high school wrestler, Stephan always longed to advance his fighting skill set.

"I remember back in high school after discovering the first few UFC's, practicing arm bars during wrestling practice."

Stephan graduated from Purdue University in 2000. And recently completed a Graduate degree in Muscle Activation Techniques.

"Life needs balance. Positive and Negative energy balance each other out as in yin-yang. I am familiar with the techniques to break people down (strikes and submissions), and now I will learn how to help them heal through these Muscle Activation Techniques."

During the summer of 1999 Stephan began traing at the Carlson Gracie Jr. jiu jitsu school in Chicago.

"A few months went by and I realized I was bored with working out. What am I training for? Why do it? I needed some competition. "

In the summer of 2001 and a fight promoter visited the school looking for fighters to compete in the Ironheart Crown that November. Stephan decided to give it a try. He defeated both his opponents by stoppage...and took home the title.

Six months after the Ironheart crown, the legendary Carlson Gracie Sr. came to Chicago, and Stephan became his protege.

"I learned so much in so little time. The man really knows his craft."

Around this same time Stephan began training in boxing. He entered and won the superheavyweight Chicago Golden Gloves titles is 2002 (novice division) and again in 2004 (open division).

With the open title Stephan had the chance to compete in the national Golden Gloves tournament in Kansas City, MO. Here he stopped his first two opponents, both nationally ranked, then lost a close decision to one of the finalists in my third fight.

He also competed in various jiu jitsu tournaments, winning a gold medal in the Pan Ams in 2002 Adult Blue Belt division.

"Of course there is more to me than fighting. I also enjoy hanging out with my girlfriend, partying with my friends, Cubs games, Bears games, movies, vacations... I better stop, this is sounding to much like a singles ad."

In the summer of 2004 Stephan was chosen to be a cast member of Spike TV's "The Ultimate Fighter". He went on to fight in the finale against Forrest Griffen, in what many describe as one of the greatest fights in UFC history.



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