The Ultimate Fighter 1 finalist and UFC Hall of Famer, Stephan BonnarHe passed away at the age of 45.
The news of Stephan Bonnar’s death was confirmed by the UFC this Saturday, December 24, and an independent police source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the MMA Fighting Bonnar portal that the former fighter died on December 22. The person declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly regarding the case. Bonnar’s cause of death is yet to be confirmed.
Bonnar faced a number of personal challenges in recent years, most recently the destruction of his Las Vegas home in April. Bonnar’s wife, Andrea Brown, posted on Facebook that the couple “lost everything” to a fire.
A subsequent fundraiser managed to raise $10,000 for the retired fighter, who was able to move into a new residence thanks in part to a generous donation from former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.
In September 2021, Bonnar caused a stir when he posted several videos on Instagram of a heated confrontation at the hospital. She later explained that she was seeking treatment for a serious injury she suffered while professionally wrestling and claimed that doctors denied her care due to her stance once morest the COVID-19 vaccination. In a later interview, she said doctors at a different center discovered a life-threatening staph infection that required intravenous antibiotics and a long recovery period.
The Career of Stephan Bonnar
Bonnar burst onto the MMA scene as a member of the reality show «The Ultimate Fighter 1«. There she reached the final of the show and fought Forrest Griffin. Although Bonnar lost by unanimous decision, he was awarded a UFC contract by UFC president Dana White, as it later emerged that the fight helped save the promotion, as the UFC was financially poor at the time.
Bonnar and Griffin were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in July 2013 for their fight. The two would meet in the Octagon a year following their famous fight, with Griffin once more winning by decision.
Bonnar, a jiu-jitsu specialist, had a nine-year career in the UFC in which he fought several former and future champions, including Griffin, Rashad Evans, Jon Jones, Mark Coleman and Anderson Silva.
After his departure from the UFC, he came out of retirement in 2014 for a single fight with Tito Ortiz under the Bellator banner. He lost by split decision and subsequently transitioned to professional wrestling, where he worked with various regional promotions.
Bonnar spoke openly regarding the damage caused by his MMA career, saying his decision to hang up his gloves was influenced by the discovery of a cavum septi pellucidi (cavity that forms in the middle of the brain), which has been linked with the possible future diagnosis of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
