FILE - Anderson Silva, right, of Brazil, fights Stephan Bonnar, of the United States, during their light heavyweight mixed martial arts bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 14, 2012. UFC says former fighter Bonnar, who played a significant role in the UFCs growth into the dominant promotion in mixed martial arts, has died. The UFC Hall of Famer was 45. UFC announced in a statement that Bonnar died Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, from presumed heart complications while at work. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)FILE - Mixed martial arts fighter Stephan Bonnar, of the United States, poses during the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 153 weigh-in event in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 12, 2012. UFC says former fighter Bonnar, who played a significant role in the UFCs growth into the dominant promotion in mixed martial arts, has died. The UFC Hall of Famer was 45. UFC announced in a statement that Bonnar died Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, from presumed heart complications while at work. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
FILE - Anderson Silva, right, of Brazil, fights Stephan Bonnar, of the United States, during their light heavyweight mixed martial arts bout at the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 153 in Rio de Janeiro, Oct. 14, 2012. UFC says former fighter Bonnar, who played a significant role in the UFCs growth into the dominant promotion in mixed martial arts, has died. The UFC Hall of Famer was 45. UFC announced in a statement that Bonnar died Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022, from presumed heart complications while at work. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Former fighter Stephan Bonnar, who played a significant role in the UFC’s growth into the dominant promotion in mixed martial arts, has died, UFC announced. He was 45.
Bonnar, who was inducted into the UFC’s Hall of Fame in 2013, died Thursday from “presumed heart complications while at work,” according to a statement from UFC on Saturday. No further details were released.
Recommended Videos
Bonnar, who originally was from Indiana, hadn’t fought in the UFC since 2014, and he went just 8-6 during seven years with the promotion.
He was a contestant in 2005 on the first season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the UFC’s long-running reality competition show. He reached the competition’s finale, where he had a spectacular, bloody brawl with Forrest Griffin.
Griffin won the decision, but the viral attention gained by the highly entertaining bout is widely credited with exposing the little-known sport to a larger worldwide audience online and on Spike TV, which broadcast it.
“Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the Octagon,” UFC president Dana White said in the statement. “His fight with Forrest Griffin changed the sport forever, and he will never be forgotten. The fans loved him, related to him and he always gave them his best. He will be missed.”
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
