LAS VEGAS | It's safe to say that over his mixed martial arts career, Stephan Bonnar has fought some future UFC Hall of Famers.
He's one of only three fighters to face both former UFC light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans and the man who took his belt Saturday at UFC 98, handing him his first loss, Lyoto Machida. It wouldn't be a stretch by any means to see Evans (8-1 UFC) one day honored. And analysts are already saying Machida (7-0 UFC) might be unbeatable in the 205-pound division.
For his part, Bonnar, a Munster native, just might find himself enshrined one day, too, if for no other reason than his legendary battle with Forrest Griffin on the finale of the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter." That back-and-forth slugfest more than four years ago is widely credited -- most importantly by UFC president Dana White -- as being the fight that helped the UFC turn the corner down Mainstream Avenue. For that fight, both Bonnar and Griffin have cemented their UFC legacies.
But on July 11 at UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Bonnar won't be fighting a future Hall of Famer. He'll be fighting an actual Hall of Famer: Mark Coleman.
Coleman helped pave the way for MMA in the early UFC days before fighting in Japan for the now-defunct PRIDE organization for more than six years. His induction into the UFC Hall of Fame at UFC 82 in front of his hometown fans in Columbus, Ohio, was thought to be his retirement party -- but he announced his intentions to keep fighting. His one fight back in the UFC was a TKO loss to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 93, a bout that had many criticizing both fighters for their sluggishness, but had cynics wondering if Coleman should still be in the Octagon.
Not so fast, Bonnar says.
"I just watched that fight -- it was a good fight," Bonnar said Friday before starting a strength and conditioning session at the Phillipi Sports Institute in Las Vegas. "Shogun's one of the top five fighters and (Coleman) was taking him down and ground-and-poundin' him. He used his wrestling to kind of wear Shogun down. Everyone said Coleman looked tired -- Shogun looked just as tired."
Coleman is 12 years his senior, and Bonnar said he's counting on superior cardio against the former national champion wrestler at Ohio State University.
"I'm doing everything I can to make sure (my cardio) is going to be there," Bonnar said. "The one thing about really strong wrestlers like that is they use so much strength and it makes you work, too. You've got to be ready to really work hard against someone like that."
Bonnar's last fight, at UFC 94 in January, ended in disappointment with a unanimous decision loss to up-and-comer Jon Jones. It was Bonnar's first fight in 15 months after rehabbing a badly injured knee. And while Bonnar said after the fight that he "over-trained," he is intent on keeping that loss in the past.
"I'm fighting a different guy," Bonnar said. "I have to put the Jones fight and that strategy behind me. In that fight, I kinda got knocked off my strategy, which was not to clinch with him. I hadn't fought for so long, so it was all about doing more and pushing a little harder. And I should've just trusted that I was in shape and tapered down a little more. I remember the Tuesday before the fight, I trained really hard -- I thought I needed to. And I usually don't do that. But you're gone for a long time, and your worry is that you're not doing enough. You keep pushing harder."
Bonnar said he has been in his training camp for Coleman for about six weeks. Some would call the fight a dangerous one. If Bonnar wins, he will have beaten a fighter who has fought just once in more than two years, and if he loses ... well, it's no surprise Bonnar told The Times last month this fight has him in "definitely must-win territory." So why take the fight?
"For a while, I've been like, 'I want a good, veteran name,' and he's that," Bonnar said. "And also, I remember when I first saw him, I was scared to death of him. It's really good to face your fears."
