The MMA community mourns following the death of Stephan Bonnar.
Presumed heart complications ended the UFC legend’s life on Thursday, while he was at work. Since then, many have sent out meaningful messages regarding the legacy Bonnar had left in the sport. One of those would be UFC commentator, Joe Rogan.
Rogan was in the broadcast booth on April 9, 2005 for ‘The Ultimate Fighter 1’ finale when Bonnar competed in one of the greatest fights in UFC history against Forrest Griffin. The war was regarded as ‘the fight that saved the UFC’ for its impact in bringing the promotion into the mainstream.
Rogan Shares A Few Words About Bonnar
The longtime commentator was saddened to hear that one-half of that historic bout was no longer with us.
“We lost a real legend,” Rogan wrote on Instagram. “RIP to one of the most important figures in the explosion of MMA. Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin engaged in a battle on Spike TV in 2005 that was so wild, and so entertaining that it changed the course of the UFC and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts forever. You will not be forgotten.”
Flashback
This wasn’t the first time Rogan had spoken on the impact of Bonnar’s battle of attrition against Griffin. Many years ago, Rogan said the fight garnered a viewership of 8 million viewers and that it put MMA on the map.
“People were calling up their friends and were, ‘Dude you gotta watch this, there’s this crazy fight going on, these two white guys are beating the f**k out of each other.'” Rogan said
“And the estimation was that there was as many as 8 million people watching this fight. It was unfathomable. That was the birth of modern MMA — that was the fight that put it on the map.”
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