Stephan Bonnar needs to win at UFC 100 on Saturday.

The experts know it. The fans know it. His opponent, UFC Hall of Famer Mark Coleman, knows it. But most importantly, Stephan Bonnar knows it.

"I just really ... I gotta win," Bonnar said Monday night. "That's the bottom line. I need it for a lot of reasons, (but) financially you get paid a lot more if you win -- there are bonuses involved."

But beyond the paycheck, this will be the 10th fight in the UFC for Bonnar (14-5, 5-4 UFC), a Munster native who cut his teeth early in his MMA career fighting in Ironheart Crown events at the Hammond Civic Center. A loss would send him to 5-5 in the promotion with two consecutive losses -- dangerous territory in a stacked light heavyweight division.

It's been more than four years since Bonnar put himself on the map in a fight for the ages against Forrest Griffin in the finals of the first season of "The Ultimate Fighter." That same fight pretty much put the UFC on the map, too. For his part in the bout, Bonnar, who lost a close decision to Griffin but was awarded a contract anyway, is locked in as a legend. But none of that matters when the Octagon door closes.

Bonnar found that out in January when he lost a unanimous decision to Jon Jones. He said after the fight, and again Monday, that he overtrained for the fight and peaked too early, but said he altered his training for the Coleman fight. He now takes a day off if his body tells him it needs it.

"I really respond good to rest," Bonnar said. "It was a big mistake last time. Probably my biggest mistake, in my head I felt like I had to keep doing more (training for Jones). Throughout camp, now I'm getting smarter about that -- I'll take a day or two off and I feel so much better."

For more hints on taking a day off here and there during his camp, Bonnar returned to his mainstream sports roots -- he thought about playing baseball in Munster's Little League.

"I can remember, even as a little kid playing baseball, playing every day, going to batting cages," Bonnar said, "and you keep trying and swinging and swinging, and you're in a slump and can't figure it out. And then you and your family go on a little vacation and you come back and you're hittin' the ball like a champ again. I actually thought of that and took a few days off and felt so much better."

Bonnar's fight with Coleman is on the undercard of UFC 100 -- meaning there is no guarantee it will be on the televised pay-per-view, which will feature five fights. But with two five-round title fights, Bonnar-Coleman will need a little help from a few quick main-card fights in order to make the broadcast.

Bonnar said he's most looking forward to the welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Thiago Alves, who also once fought in Northwest Indiana on an Ironheart Crown card. If Bonnar had to make a pick, it would be GSP, but he thinks Alves, a near 3-to-1 underdog, has a shot.

"I'd probably say St-Pierre, but Thiago is really dangerous and I think there's a really good chance of him putting some striking together and taking St-Pierre out," Bonnar said.