Stephan Bonnar retires from UFC – UFC News
UFC legend Stephan Bonnar has announced his retirement following his first round knockout defeat to middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Bonnar, who was already on the verge of retirement, took the last fight of his career against Silva, hoping he could
make a difference. Unfortunately, Bonnar could not stand against the ‘Spider’ long enough and fell to a massive knee to the abdomen.
Despite his loss to Silva, Bonnar’s legacy of being among the pioneers of UFC still goes on. He was the one who gave the organisation the much needed boost in its initial days.
“Huge thanks to every UFC fan out there. All I ever wanted was to bring ya'll some fun...hope u were entertained,” read Bonnar’s Facebook page statement.
Bonnar stands with 17 wins and 8 losses in his portfolio. He had already indicated towards retirement prior to his fight against Silva, but was hoping to prolong his career with a win over Silva.
Back in 2006, Bonnar had spoken of his fighting career, saying he start it as a hobby.
“I did it kind of a hobby. I always loved fighting and I did wrestling and tae kwon do growing up and got into jiu-jitsu and boxing,” Bonnar had asserted back then.
“And I really just wanted to get better, so what’s the best way to get better? Enter a competition and see where you’re at. Then you enter another one; then with boxing it’s like, let me enter the Golden Gloves and see how good I am. It just keeps escalating,”
he had added.
For now, Bonnar is no longer a part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He hung up his gloves in a manner most legends would do. A knockout defeat to the world’s best mixed martial artists was probably the best way to end a legendary career like his.
Bonnar is satisfied with his UFC run, and he believes there was nothing more he could have achieved. Prior to the fight, even Silva called Bonnar a legend, adding that the American Psycho’s achievements will always be a part of the show.
A legendary career ended in a legendary way, probably that is what every elite fighter in the world would want and Bonnar just got that.
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