Jan-25-2010

An American Psycho in Australia - Stephan Bonnar is back

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By Chuck Mindenhall

Not to cue the violins or anything, but Stephan Bonnar hasn’t won a fight in the Octagon since UFC 77 in October of 2007—or 33 cards, a change in Presidential administrations and 439 days ago (numbers based as of February 20, 2010, when he fights Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in Australia). That’s when he beat his friend Eric “Red” Schafer with a ruthless ground-and-pound assault. It’s been tough sledding since that night in Cincinnati for one of the sport’s most popular figures.

After suffering ligament tears in his left knee while training for a bout with Matt Hamill, “The American Psycho” was sidelined for a long, long time. Too long, especially when Jon Jones, of all people, just happened to be the opponent for his comeback fight. Knowing what we know about Jonny “Bones” Jones now, it’s a wonder Bonnar was able to go the distance.

“I felt terrible,” says the two-time Golden Gloves champion. “I remember hitting the mitts before the fight and it felt like I couldn’t break an eggshell. I just felt weak and had my knee reconstructed, pretty big surgery, and I was on my ass for about six months and then took the fight and trained my ass off for four months. After six months of inactivity and four months of really pushing it, I just really overdid it, and I was flat and over-tired.”

So it wasn’t the momentum builder he’d hoped for, but it was good to see Bonnar back in the Octagon after more than a year away. Though he enjoys spearfishing tilapia in Lake Mead and repelling down steep cliffs and shooting Uzis in the desert (and in general, “blowing stuff up”), what he likes more than anything is being locked in a cage with somebody who wants to knock him out or force him to quit.

That’s the one thing the Las Vegas-based fighter has established as a mixed martial artist—a sense of excitement. Though the 32-year-old native Chicagoan has trained with some of the best ground specialists—guys like Carlson Gracie and Sergio Penha—and most of his finishes have come via submission, he likes to stand and bang. Trading black eyes and split lips. That’s more his bag. And that’s also the indelible image that the fighting public carries of him.

Bonnar is, of course, forever linked to one of the biggest fights in UFC history, when he and Forrest Griffin brawled for three free-swinging rounds at the first Ultimate Fighter finale in April 2005.

That fight singlehandedly won over a new audience of fans and set the bar pretty high for what constitutes heart, chin and fighting spirit. In fact, the UFC commemorates that legendary bout before the main card of many live events with a video set to The Who’s “Baba O’Reilly,” which cuts into a montage of the two exchanging, back and forth, during the song’s coda.

Gooseflesh. Nothing revs a crowd up like a good fight.

“I kind of feel lucky, you know?” he says. “I happened to have a great fight and tons of people tuned in for the first live MMA event on network TV (Spike). The cards just fell in the right place, the stars just aligned, and I had a great fight at the perfect time. We really threw down the whole time and it really worked out.”

But, he is quick to add, styles make fights.

“Luckily it was me and Forrest that fought—had it been me and [Mark] Coleman fighting, none of that magic would have happened.”

Bonnar’s last fight was against Mark Coleman at UFC 100, and it wasn’t that he lost the decision that bothered him so much as the decibel-dropping lack of excitement. Though he felt his strength and conditioning were getting back to where things were pre-knee injury, it’s just that . . . boring fights aren’t for him. He says if the spinning back kick that he attempted had been “two inches over, I’d have killed him,” but in the end it just sort of limped languidly towards a decision, and that’s the part that stinks. That’s how Bonnar looks at it. In fact, he’s entirely old school when talking about stepping into the cage.

“For me it’s more of a fight than a sporting event or a match,” he says. “I’m fighting! That’s what it’s been about for me. But I think I need to be a little more point-savvy and a little more round-savvy and pay more attention to things like, ‘okay, let’s stand up now when he’s not doing much’ instead of just fighting the whole time.”

Bonnar’s next opponent promises to be exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of excitement. Krzysztof Soszynski—“The Polish Experiment”—is never happier than when he’s throwing hands or trying to twist an arm off a body. Coming off a loss of his own to Brandon Vera at UFC 102, the Team Quest member is just the kind of fighter that brings it.

“Oh yeah, he usually comes to fight,” Bonnar (14-6) says of Soszynski (19-10-1). “In the last fight with Coleman it felt more like he wanted to get takedowns and hold me down more than anything. Not like he was trying to beat me up. Krzysztof will try to come in there and beat me up and, hey, that’s what I want!”

Masochistic, sure, but Bonnar has always been enthusiastic when it comes to analyzing and breaking down fights—both his own and others. If you’ve seen him on the set of MMA Live, you know he’s a natural for color commentary and speaking his mind. (“I love doing that show,” he says, “I can’t believe they pay me for it! That’s something I’d do anyway, taking about strengths and match-ups from the couch.”) When he takes a close look at Soszynski he sees two things—a freakishly strong human being, and a southpaw who uses his right more often than any lefty should.

“He’s just a big strong guy,” he says. “But I feel technically I’ve got him beat in both the striking and the submission game. I know I can submit him, I know I could beat him standing up, and, if he lasts long enough…”

Care to elaborate, Mr. American Psycho?

“I’m pretty sure I could break his spirit, too,” he says. “I’ve seen him kind of fold in fights and, you know, if that’s happened before, that person’s got it in them.”