Forrest and Bonnar in the HOF Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar recently became the newest members of the UFC Hall of Fame. Neither of them have great records (Forrest is 19-7 Bonnar is 15-8) and neither had a long title run (Forrest did claim UFC gold but never successfully defended it) but their contribution to the UFC is arguably more important than either of those things. These two men stood across from each other at The Ultimate Fighter Season 1 final on April 9, 2005 prepared to fight for a 6 figure contract live on cable TV. For 15 minutes they battled, leaving everything in the cage and the world noticed. Dana White was so impressed that he gave both men the contract and the rest is history. The importance of that fight cannot be over stated. It took the UFC and everything they had been building as a company and pushed it out of the fringes and into the mainstream. The UFC had already grown tremendously from what it was when Dana White and the Fertitta brothers took the organization over but that fight took it to new heights. Not just any fighters could have pulled off what they did, its almost like they were made to fight each other on that stage. On that night they were equally matched in skill and heart and put on an epic performance, one that no one who was watching will soon forget. TUF became a successful franchise and is beginning its 16th season in the US and has taken hold across the globe and the UFC has signed a major network TV deal. Without Forrest and Bonnar, bloody and spent on cable TV none of that would be possible. While both have retired from fighting I don’t believe either is done contributing to the UFC. Bonnar has become a regular analyst and ringside commentator and Forrest remains a huge fan favorite at book signings (he’s an accomplished author) and any UFC even he shows up to. As a fan I’d like to thank both of them for everything they have done or will do for the UFC and mma in general.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 02:08:00 +0000
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