Stephan Bonnar has seen his fair share of injuries. In early 2008, he suffered a severe knee injury in training for a bout with Matt Hamill at UFC Fight Night 13. He spent the better part of the year on the sidelines.
In earlier days, Bonnar said, there weren't as many fighters under contract with the UFC. If it wasn't a serious injury, the pressure was greater to stay in the fight.
"You wanted to show them if you are banged up that you can suck it up and not let them down," he told MMA Insider. "If you want them to appreciate you as a fighter, win or lose, make them proud and step up."
That's changed recently, as Bonnar first told ESPN's MMA Live. With more fighters under contract, and greater stakes for division champions, the promotion has grown more understanding of injury and illness delays.
Take the recent illness of Brock Lesnar as a sign things are changing, as well as the recent elbow troubles of Anderson Silva, said Bonnar.
"We're fighters, we're supposed to be tough, and all of us have sucked it up and fought through injuries," he said. "It's nice to know that they're more forgiving about that."
Bonnar returned last Tuesday from Mensano, Italy, where he married his longtime girlfriend. He spent two weeks in the Tuscan village unwinding.
"No injuries on the honeymoon," he quipped.
Now, it's back to training, where he is expected to take on Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in February. He's anxious to get back into the cage.
Meanwhile, Bonnar has ramped up his involvement in NGAUGE, which produces high-end lithograph prints of famous UFC fights and fighters.
"I thought about what I'm going to do in the MMA business, and I thought, what, am I just going to do another t-shirt line?" said Bonnar. "Everyone and their mother is doing one of those."
Bonnar said the art's potential was readily apparent with the first lithograph, which memorialized his battle with Forrest Griffin. The print gained UFC president Dana White's approval, and the pieces are now available on the UFC's website under collectibles.
A jewelry line and t-shirts featuring the art are planned for the future.
"It's just about a great product and an open market, " said Bonnar.
As always, the Xtreme Couture gym in Las Vegas is buzzing with activity. MMAInsider was on the scene last weekend while several well-known fighters prepared for upcoming bouts in a group sparring session.
Amidst the swarm of fists and kicks on the gym's main workout area, Gilbert Yvel was engaging Stephan Bonnar near the cage in the second of five five-minute rounds. From the looks of it, Yvel was taking it to the runner-up of the original "Ultimate Fighter."
Yvel's hands and feet were lightning fast; he never let anything get away. The second Bonnar threw a punch, another was on its way to meet him. He did his best to catch-up, but after eating several kicks to the midsection, he thought twice about being overly aggressive.
And apparently, Yvel was still being too nice. Between rounds, Yvel's trainer, John Lewis, told his fighter to turn it up a notch.
"You can hit harder," he encouraged.
When the two found each other in the fifth five-minute round, Yvel quit playing patty-cake.
One particular kick to Bonnar's midsection took the wind out of his sails.
"It kinda sucked," Bonnar later told MMAinsider. "Every time I hit him, he'd hit me back harder. So I took him down at the end of the (second) round, kinda got a good position on him. He didn't like that, so he found me again for the fifth round and hit me with a few."
Bonnar pointed to his left eye, which was marked red.
"It's good to take an ass whupping every now and then," he said with a smile.
Make sure to check out videos with Yvel and Bonnar as they discuss their upcoming fights at Affliction's "Day of Reckoning" and UFC 94, respectively.
ESPN's MMA Live team talks about the top stories of 2008 along with handing out a series of awards. The team also starts the analysis of UFC 93 in Ireland
ESPN.com's MMA Live is back for another week and this time around the crew talks about UFC 91, reviews the WEC event from Wednesday night, and follows up on the news and notes around MMA.
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