MMA Hot Stuff

Stephan Bonnar: Interview with MMAHotStuff.com

Sure, everyone is hyped for the Welterweight championship fight between BJ Penn and GSP at UFC 94, but personally I'm looking forward to seeing one of my favorite fighters, Stephan Bonnar, return to the cage to take on fast rising star Jon Jones.

A finalist from the very first season of The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) reality show, and one-half of what could possibly be the most significant fight in the history of the UFC (see Bonnar VS Griffin 1), Bonnar has played a special role in the rise of MMA as a mainstream sport. Whether it's in the cage or in front of a camera and microphone, Bonnar continues to be a familiar face for UFC and MMA fans alike.

I had the pleasure of interviewing a charismatic Stephan. Find out what "The American Psycho" has been up to, how he got involved with ESPN's MMALive, why Hugh Hefner is one of his heroes, and much more:

Rachel: You've been a prominent figure on ESPN's MMA Live. How did you get involved with the program and are you setting yourself up for a career in TV after fighting?
Stephan: I got involved in that partially through my agent Dean Albrecht...a real cool mofo, and also by the recommendation of my comrade Kenflo Florian.  ESPN is sports defined & now they cover MMA. It is so sweet to go out to the beautiful ESPN university and do that show....and walk around and see the Sportscenter dudes and big football players in suits.  It is such a great time.  I definitely enjoy doing the show.  I have also had the opportunity to do other work in this field, such as: I had the opportunity to do cast interviews, weekly episode recaps, and live webshows for Spike TV on seasons 2, 3, & 4 of the Ultimate Fighter.  They also had Forrest and I host, "The TUFfest 25 Moments" TV show, and I have done some other shows, commercials, and appearances for Spike and it is a blast.  Spike has been great to me. I've also done some public speaking to teenagers at schools for the UFC.  I have done color commentary on smaller MMA shows.  I've even done ring announcing.....Oh yeah, I'm starring in a movie coming out  too....check it out at ultimatechampionmovie.com. 
Doing stuff like that has been so much fun....and the best part is I actually get paid for it.  It really beats the sh!@ out of any other job I have had like office work, laboring, probably even teaching martial arts....although that is pretty fun too.  It's still not as much fun as getting beat up in a cage though.  So to answer your question, Yes, I would like to continue doing these sort of things.

Rachel: You're on a show seen by millions, and you fight in front of thousands. Do you ever get nervous? 
Stephan:Yes of course, more for fighting, but its a good nervousness. Kind of like a super altert feeling.

Rachel: What's your favorite scene from "American Psycho"? Are you as rigid with your hygiene routine as Patrick Bateman?
Stephan: I wouldn't be called that if you saw my hygiene routine.  I live in warm up suits & workout clothes, shave twice a week, hate shopping & haircuts.  I will tell you, the hardest part of doing the "Ultimate Champion" movie was the grooming.  I had to groom my body hair, shave, clear up the ringworm.  I even tanned so the movie wouldn't be mistaken for Powder 2. Oh yeah....my favorite American Psycho scene is when he's having the menage a trois and he keeps looking in the mirror and flexing. I just found that hilarious.

Rachel: On your UFC profile you list Hugh Hefner as one of your heroes. Is it the sheer number of girls or the amount of money? Be honest…
Stephan: The reason Hugh Hefner is listed is because we filled out those questionairres after being locked inside the TUF house for 8 weeks, and all I could think of was, "So this is my big opportunity, huh? Locked up with 16 dudes for two months fighting with them twice a day.  What did I do wrong with my life? How did the cards fall this way...  Why couldn't I have been like Hugh Hefner and photographed beautiful naked women for a living...Hmmm must be nice."  But then I saw his TV show with the 3 blondes he's dating and realized...Wow! If I had to deal with the 3 of them 24/7 I'd blow my brains out.

Rachel: What would you be doing with yourself if you hadn't found your way into MMA?
Stephan: It'd probably be back to gangbanging and rapping.

Rachel: I see you're a Chicago Bears fan. I have Kyle Orton on my fantasy team this season and he hasn't been bringing me many points. Can you have a talk with your fellow Purdue Alum?
Stephan: They almost made the playoffs. They could've won that game.  I was there when Brees was QB...always wished the Bears would've drafted him.

Rachel: It'll have been about 18 months since you've fought. Did you focus on any specific skills or aspects of your game during your break?
Stephan: It will be 15 months since my last fight actually and I have focused on a lot things...striking, submissions for all of that time minus of course the injury & surgery time.

Rachel: How do you feel you have evolved as a fighter since your famous Ultimate Fighter finale fight? Which by the way is still my favorite TUF fight, ever.
Stephan: I've gotten older...kicks and jiujitsu a lot better....wrestling a lot better...and defense improved.

Rachel: Who has been the biggest influence in your fighting career?
Stephan: All my  teachers.  I thank them all.  Dexter Grove for taekwondo.  Kent Lewis high school wrestling. Carlson Gracie..God bless his soul, former jiujitsu teacher, and Joe Kaehn..my first boxing coach.  I thank them all for getting me started.  And of course I thanks  all my teachers since then & now, like Randy, Sergio Penha, Duke Roufus, Mark Dellagrotte and Sityodtong...and my training partners and coaches at Xtreme Couture, Warrior, Master Toddys.

Rachel: Your opponent at UFC 94, Jon Jones, is a relative UFC newcomer, but looks to have a solid wrestling background with overall athleticism. What challenges do you think he poses for you?
Stephan: He's long, explosive, and unorthodox.

Rachel: You began wrestling at the early age of 10 and Tae Kwon Do at thirteen. You began training at Carlson Gracie Jr Jiu Jitsu School in 1999 and won the Heavyweight Chicago Golden Gloves titles in 2002 and 2004. Out of all of the disciplines what is your favorite and why?
Stephan: To be honest with you I get sick of them all.  I always have gone through phases.  For example in 2002 I was in a boxing phase and did the Golden Gloves. 2003 was a jiujitsu phase.  2004 another boxing phase. 2005 was TUF season 1. Then I got really into muay thai after the show. Then wrestling. I always feel like I'm doing more of 1 discipline until I'm close to a fight, then its more even.

Here's to wishing Stephan the best of luck at UFC 94. If you're not going to make it to the event, check back in a couple of weeks for a list of bars showing the fight! And come February, don't forget to check out Stephan as he makes his acting debut as the lead in Ultimate Champion. For a sneak preview of the movie:
ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER ULTIMATE CHAMPION MOVIE TRAILER

UFC 95: Diego Sanchez moves to lightweight to face Joe Stevenson

MMAJunkie has reportedthat a bout between Diego Sanchez and Joe Stevenson will headline UFC 95 from London, although it has not yet been officially announced by the UFC.

Rumors of Sanchez's move to lightweight started when he posted a message on his MySpace page about the possible move, an was followed up by a statement from his management about Diego's willingness to fight at both welterweight or lightweight.

On a two fight win streak at welterweight, this would be Diego's first fight in the lightweight division, and the UFC would be wasting no time throwing him into the mix with a fight against Stevenson.

Joe "Daddy" Stevenson is coming off a disappointing loss to Kenny Florian at UFC 91, where he was submitted in the first round. This bout of gives the UFC some breathing room regarding what to do with the lightweight division since BJ Penn will be fighting at welterweight in January and there is no clear plan as to when he would defend his lightweight belt, especially if he beats GSP.

The move by Penn to welterweight left Kenny Florian in a precarious position given he has proven himself the number one contender at lightweight. However, should Sanchez defeat Stevenson, it could not only provide another worthy opponent for Florian while he waits for BJ Penn to return to lightweight, but it would also set up a rematch of the Ultimate Fighter Season 1 finale, which was originally fought at middleweight!

UFC 92 Recap: "Sugar" tastes sweet victory... Rampage & Mir are back!

In an event that lived up to all the hype, UFC 92 truly was the ultimate 2008 card with three headline-worthy fights.

In the first of the three highly anticipated bouts, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Wanderlei "the Axe Murderer" Silva squared off for a third time in their careers. Both fighters looked ready for war and refused to touch gloves (not surprising after their near scuffle at weigh-ins... see picture here thanks to combatlifestyle.com).

The fighters however didn't come out swinging, with Silva seeming especially tentative. But when the two did engage, it didn't take long for Rampage's tight and crisp boxing skills to come out on top. After blocking two of Silva's wild punches he landed a counter left hook that dropped Silva out cold. Silva was out, and Rampage looked amazing with his hands.

After the fight Rampage gave a lot of thanks to his new training camp. "I came to England with the Wolfslair, got my wolf on, now it's right," he said. "Rampage is back, baby. I ain't going nowhere."

So what's next for Rampage? "I would like to get my title back," he said, which is something every fighter wants, and a fight between Evans and Rampage makes "the most sense" according to Dana White. Although it's doubtful Rampage would turn down a title fight, he also had this to say, "To be honest, I really want to fight Forrest. That's the fight that haunts me when I go to sleep... I would like to get Forrest first, if I could."

In the heavyweight division, Frank Mir and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira faced off for the light heavyweight interim championship, and for the distinct pleasure of being the next to face Brock Lesnar in order to unify the belt and determine the true heavyweight champion.

Nogueria came into the fight as a huge favorite, with many experts saying his improved boxing would be too much for Mir to handle. From the beginning it was Mir that showed the superior boxing skills and a great uppercut as he dropped Nogueira three times in the first round. The first two times Mir followed Nogueira to the ground to do some damage before quickly backing away to avoid Nogueira's ground game. The third knock down of the round came right at the end with Nogueira hitting the mat as the bell rang. As Mir walked by his fallen opponent to his corner you could see the confidence on his face.

The second round proved to be more of the same, as Mir used superior boxing and quickness to fluster Nogueira. Big Nog did get a few shots in, but not enough to phase Mir. In the end, Mir dropped Nogueira early in the second round with a great three punch combo. He followed Nogueira to the mat dropping a flurry of punches from side control until the ref jumped in to stop the fight. As Nogueira tried to get back up he was clearly wobbly and it was clear that it was a good stoppage.

Immediately after the stoppage Mir circled the cage to find Lesnar in the audience and let him know that he was ready for him. In the post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, an emotional Mir thanked his family and let everyone know that even he didn't think he could beat Nogueira, but with the support of his loved ones his comeback is complete.

In the main event of the night, Forrest Griffin attempted to make his first title defense against the undefeated "Sugar" RashadEvans. The first few rounds were dead even as both fighters tried to play to their strengths. We saw Forrest using his reach and size advantage while Rashad utlized his speed and quickness. Neither fighter could gain the upper hand. Even towards the end of the second round after Griffin went on a relentless attack, Rashad simply stuck his chin out to show Griffin he wasn't hurt!

At the beginning of the third we saw Rashad take a different approach as he caught one of Griffin's low kicks and took him to the mat. He unloaded with a flurry of punches while Griffin attempted to get to his guard. Once Griffin got to guard he was fairly active, working for a triangle and kumura, however Rashad was having none of it staying very active from the top. Rashad continued to work from Griffin's guard and landed a hard right hand that stunned Griffin. Rashad then postured up and trapped Griffin in a helpless position on bottom while he landed solid blows to Griffin's chin, ultimately knocking Griffin out and forcing the stoppage.

One thought... Griffin's last loss was via the same method, ground and pound from his guard, and was to another fighter out of Greg Jackson's camp, Keith Jardine. Even Forrest admitted that his guard was "lazy". 

Always gracious in defeat, Forrest congratulated Evans on the victory and assured the crowd that he did not tap out, it was simply the appearance that he was tapping because he was completely knocked out and Rashad's punches were simply causing his body to move around. That's why we love Forrest!

All in all, it was an amazing night of fights. The light heavyweight division has once again proven to be wide open with a ton of amazing talent. For Evans, winning the title may have been the easiest part of this championship journey. The heavyweight division will now come down to a re-matchbetween Frank Mir and Brock Lesnar, and if Mir continues to look as impressive as he did against Nogueira, Lesnar will have his work cut out for him.

Also, Congratulations to Matt Hammil on his victory! (Would someone tell me why he was not on the main card!?!?!)

UFC 92: Weigh-In Video - No love lost between Jackson & Silva!!!

Here's a video of the weigh-ins for UFC 92, courtesy of ESPN.com. As you'll see, the beef between Rampage & Wanderlei is no joke, and lives on beyond their days in PRIDE. This will be one hell of a fight... Wanderlei has that "Axe Murderer" look in his eyes!

ESPN MMALive Episode 33

Here is Episode 33 of ESPN's MMALive, just in time for the Holidays... and just in time for UFC 92!! Hear the MMALive crew break down the UFC 92 card, including the advantages that each fighter has over the other. Who does Kenny think will take the light heavyweight crown? Has Nog taken too many beatings over his career and sustained too much wear and tear to get past a re-motivated Frank Mir? Find out what they think... but most importantly, what do you think? 

UFC 92 Weigh-In Results

Here are the weigh-in results for UFC 92 from UFC.com!!!! Can't wait for these fights, but can someone tell me why CB Dollaway is on the main card over the likes of Matt Hamill or even Yushin Okami? Seems ridiculous...

Main Event - UFC Light Heavyweight Championship
Rashad Evans (203) VS Forrest Griffin (205)

Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship
Frank Mir (251) VS Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (246)

Wanderlei Silva (203) VS Quinton Jackson (206)
Mostapha Al Turk (237) VS Cheick Kongo (233)
Mike Massenzio (184) VS CB Dollaway (186)

Dean Lister (186) VS Yushin Okami (185)
Mike Wessel (260) VS Antoni Hardonk (246)
Reese Andy (206) VS Matt Hamill (205)
Brad Blackburn (170) VS Ryo Chonan (171)
Patrick Barry (233) VS Dan Evensen (242)

The UFC returns to Ohio with UFC 96

The UFC apparently thinks very highly of Columbus, Ohio, because they are going back for the third time in three years.

They first came to Columbus with UFC 68 in March 2007 when Randy Couture made his return to the Octagon to capture the heavyweight crown from Tim Sylvia, then they returned in March of 2008 to see Anderson Silva take on Dan Henderson. Now the UFC returns again with UFC 96, on March 7th.

Nationwide Arena in Columbus has proven to be a fruitful venue for the UFC, with 19,000 fans for UFC 68 which was a new North American attendance record for a MMA event, and then the following March they drew 15,300 fans for another stellar show.

No fight card has been announced yet, but we'll make sure and update you when information is released!

UFC 92: Silva VS Rampage... the bad blood continues!

UFC 92 is upon us, and with so many exciting fights on the card it's tough to determine which will deliver the best fireworks of the night! However, there is one fight that is by far the biggest rivalry of the card, and that is Wanderlei Silva VS Quinton "Rampage" Jackson!

These two fighters have never liked each other... Silva hates that Rampage runs his mouth, while Rampage hates that he has lost to Silva twice already (both times in PRIDE, and both times due to devistating knees).

Normally if one fighter had already beaten another fighter twice already there would be no need for a third bout. This however is the exception to the rule. These two fighters are looking forward to throwing down, with Silva stating that he is looking to knock Rampage out and Rampage looking to "whoop his ass" as usual. Not only that, but since losing to Silva in PRIDE, Rampage has come a long way, namely capturing the UFC light heavyweight championship from Chuck Liddell before losing it in a close decision to Forest Griffin.

There is no doubt this fight will provide some great action for the fans. Let's hear what each of the fighters has to say about their upcoming battle!

UFC 92: Pay Per View Locations

 

Are you ready for UFC 92? What a card!!! This is definitely one that you CAN NOT miss... so here is the listing of bars showing the event to help you decide where to watch it!

A look inside Strikeforce

How much do you know about Strikeforce? You probably know about Gilbert Melendez and Josh Thompson, two of the best lightweights in the world. You most certainly have heard of Cung Le and Frank Shamrock, but what else?

Here is a great interview with Mike Afromowitz, a Strikeforce official. He gives us some background on the organization, how and when they got into MMA, and how they've been able to build a successful organization. Check it out!