Seizing an Opportunity, Bonnar Ready for Saturday
Seizing an Opportunity
Josh Gross Apr 7, 2005
For light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar, it all comes
down to this. Not picked to do much of anything on the first season
of The Ultimate Fighter, the 27-year-old Munster, Indiana native
stepped up twice to earn a slot on Saturday’s live televised finale
from Las Vegas. And, Bonnar tells Sherdog.com, he has no intentions
of ending the ride.
Sherdog.com: Tell me about your experience on the show. Now that you’ve gone through it, did it live up to your expectations?
Stephan Bonnar: I’m not the type of person
that expects anything, so I didn’t expect it to be a certain way.
All I knew was we’d be on lockdown and the training would be really
hard. And there’d be a bunch of guys there that who’d want to get
in the best shape possible and beat me.
That’s what I was expecting. That’s pretty much how it went. We were locked up and pretty much trained twice a day, everyday. But it was great seeing Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell as the coaches. That was a little good surprise, especially because Randy trained with us everyday. I was on his team twice a day, everyday. He did all our conditioning. It was just something else. I was glad I was on his team, yeah. He helped me out a lot.
Bonnar: Oh God. I remember before just sparring at my gym, we have a number of good jiu-jitsu guys but also like some good college wrestlers and ex-college wrestlers. Before I’d just try to avoid their takedowns and sprawl and work on that. Now I’m sitting in there, clinching up, getting my under-hooks, taking them down. So that’s what I got from Randy, my clinch game and my takedowns have got a lot better. Along with other stuff on the ground, but mainly his Greco.
Sherdog.com. Did they notice a difference when you walked back into the gym? Could they tell you had changed as a fighter?
Bonnar: Oh yeah. Right away they were like, “takedowns … Randy Couture. You learned that from Randy, huh!”
Sherdog.com: What about personally? Did the show change you at all? Did you learn any lessons about yourself?
Bonnar: I kind of surprised myself. You know, I went in there, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard of some of the guys that were on the show. There were some big names. And I expected them to be good. I got in there and beat two good guys. Now I’m in the finals. So I kind of surprised myself that way and learned that I do got some skills in this sport. And also that I made some mistakes in those fights and I got some things to work. So it really drew out my weaknesses and let me know what those were, as well as let me know what my strengths and let me know how good I really was.”
Sherdog.com: Talk about being on lockdown. How difficult was that for you?
Bonnar: Yeah, it was difficult. I mean, you got used to it after a while. It was kinda like being in a really nice jail. You’re locked up with a bunch of guys who’re just training fighting every day, but other than that you’re locked in the house. It was a really nice house, but you take your freedom away and it’s tough. It’s funny, about five [to] six weeks into it you kind of got used to it. …
Sherdog.com: Was it always a goal of yours to fight in the UFC? What was your mixed martial arts goal?
Bonnar: I never really had a goal. I never really dreamed of being in the UFC. I just remember a few years ago, November 2001, a fight promoter asking if anyone from our gym wanted to get in the show and try fights. And I thought, what the hell, I’m doing all this training. Why not? And I did. And I won the two fights. That’s all I really set out to do, win that first Ironheart. From there I won about five more fights. I lost one in Brazil to Lyoto (Machida). I saw they were having a show so I sent my tape in. Lo and behold, they picked me for it. I never really sat down and said I wanted to be the UFC champ or be in the UFC. I trained hard and kept training and competing and doing the grappling and doing the Golden Gloves. And it all kind of fell into place.
Sherdog.com: What about now? Have you refocused and made it a priority or is it still something that, “if it happens, it happens,” if not you still have the rest of your life in front of you?
Bonnar: No, I’m focused. It’s definitely a priority. I’m here to win. Like any fight — this is for really high stakes — but if this fight was for nothing I’d fight the same. I just go in there and just give it my all. I know there’s a lot of high stakes and I gotta fight my heart out. But I’d fight that way no matter what. To me, it’s really not that much different.”
Sherdog.com: Tell me about your experience on the show. Now that you’ve gone through it, did it live up to your expectations?
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That’s what I was expecting. That’s pretty much how it went. We were locked up and pretty much trained twice a day, everyday. But it was great seeing Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell as the coaches. That was a little good surprise, especially because Randy trained with us everyday. I was on his team twice a day, everyday. He did all our conditioning. It was just something else. I was glad I was on his team, yeah. He helped me out a lot.
Sherdog.com. What did you take away from training with Randy?
Bonnar: Oh God. I remember before just sparring at my gym, we have a number of good jiu-jitsu guys but also like some good college wrestlers and ex-college wrestlers. Before I’d just try to avoid their takedowns and sprawl and work on that. Now I’m sitting in there, clinching up, getting my under-hooks, taking them down. So that’s what I got from Randy, my clinch game and my takedowns have got a lot better. Along with other stuff on the ground, but mainly his Greco.
Sherdog.com. Did they notice a difference when you walked back into the gym? Could they tell you had changed as a fighter?
Bonnar: Oh yeah. Right away they were like, “takedowns … Randy Couture. You learned that from Randy, huh!”
Sherdog.com: What about personally? Did the show change you at all? Did you learn any lessons about yourself?
Bonnar: I kind of surprised myself. You know, I went in there, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d heard of some of the guys that were on the show. There were some big names. And I expected them to be good. I got in there and beat two good guys. Now I’m in the finals. So I kind of surprised myself that way and learned that I do got some skills in this sport. And also that I made some mistakes in those fights and I got some things to work. So it really drew out my weaknesses and let me know what those were, as well as let me know what my strengths and let me know how good I really was.”
Sherdog.com: Talk about being on lockdown. How difficult was that for you?
Bonnar: Yeah, it was difficult. I mean, you got used to it after a while. It was kinda like being in a really nice jail. You’re locked up with a bunch of guys who’re just training fighting every day, but other than that you’re locked in the house. It was a really nice house, but you take your freedom away and it’s tough. It’s funny, about five [to] six weeks into it you kind of got used to it. …
Sherdog.com: Was it always a goal of yours to fight in the UFC? What was your mixed martial arts goal?
Bonnar: I never really had a goal. I never really dreamed of being in the UFC. I just remember a few years ago, November 2001, a fight promoter asking if anyone from our gym wanted to get in the show and try fights. And I thought, what the hell, I’m doing all this training. Why not? And I did. And I won the two fights. That’s all I really set out to do, win that first Ironheart. From there I won about five more fights. I lost one in Brazil to Lyoto (Machida). I saw they were having a show so I sent my tape in. Lo and behold, they picked me for it. I never really sat down and said I wanted to be the UFC champ or be in the UFC. I trained hard and kept training and competing and doing the grappling and doing the Golden Gloves. And it all kind of fell into place.
Sherdog.com: What about now? Have you refocused and made it a priority or is it still something that, “if it happens, it happens,” if not you still have the rest of your life in front of you?
Bonnar: No, I’m focused. It’s definitely a priority. I’m here to win. Like any fight — this is for really high stakes — but if this fight was for nothing I’d fight the same. I just go in there and just give it my all. I know there’s a lot of high stakes and I gotta fight my heart out. But I’d fight that way no matter what. To me, it’s really not that much different.”
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