Fighting

UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar has died at the age of 45.

Per an official statement from UFC, Bonnar's death is presumed to be from heart complications while he was at work.

"Stephan Bonnar was one of the most important fighters to ever compete in the Octagon," said UFC President Dana White. "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."

Nicknamed The American Psycho, Bonnar had a 13-year career in mixed martial arts from 2001-14. He went 15-9 in 24 bouts, including possibly the most significant fight in UFC history.

With UFC struggling to breakthrough on a national level, the company launched The Ultimate Fighter reality television series to increase its exposure. The first series of the show featured 16 fighters, including eight light heavyweights and eight middleweights.

Bonnar and Forrest Griffin advanced to the finals of the middleweight bracket. They had an epic three-round battle that is universally regarded as one of the best fights in UFC history.

Even though Griffin won the fight by unanimous decision and a guaranteed UFC contract, Bonnar's performance in the bout and throughout the competition earned him a deal with the company.

Bonnar didn't match the heights of his first fight ever again, going just 8-7 in 15 fights with UFC. He did main event his final event with the promotion, losing to Anderson Silva by TKO at UFC 153.

UFC inducted Bonnar and Griffin into the Hall of Fame in 2013.

Following his retirement from mixed martial arts, Bonnar did have a brief stint in professional wrestling. He had two matches with IMPACT Wrestling in 2019.

Former UFC featherweight and lightweight double-champion Conor McGregor tweeted Saturday that he plans to fight at middleweight at some point in the future.

McGregor's comments come after he recently posted a video of his training where he was tagged as a middleweight. The video shows a clearly bulked up McGregor:

Since suffering back-to-back losses against Dustin Poirier in 2021, McGregor has yet to announce his return to the ring. He has been working his way back from a broken left fibula and tibia suffered in a bout against Poirier at UFC 264.

The Irishman said during an Instagram live session in October that he was targeting a return in "early 2023." At this point, it's unclear what weight class McGregor would fit into and who his next opponent would be.

UFC president Dana White also said recently that he isn't sure when McGregor will return. The 34-year-old must first re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency's testing pool for at least six months before he can fight again.

However, he could be given an exemption to return if he provides two negative drug tests. He said in November that he will be clear for testing in February and intends to begin the process in hopes of being granted an exemption to book a fight.

It was quite a week for Paddy "The Baddy" Pimblett.

The seven days leading up to Saturday's UFC 282 event, which went down from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, came with a bit of controversy for the Liverpool, England native. Fortunately for the fan favorite, Pimblett's week ended on an up note with a unanimous-decision defeat of fellow lightweight Jared Gordon following a back-and-forth bout that was probably closer than his post-fight brashness would allow him to acknowledge.

"It wasn't close…not at all," Pimblett told UFC color commentator and incredibly famous podcaster Joe Rogan in the cage after the fight. "I won the first two rounds, then I coasted in the third because I knew I was up."

That's not the way other observers saw it.

Gordon, who was an underdog coming into the bout, gave Pimblett a run for his money and then some—and far more of one than Pimblett initially let on.

"Jared is one tough m-----------r," he acknowledged. "You know what I mean? He's a tough man."

Gordon appeared to get the better of Pimblett in the opening round, landing the more accurate and precise strikes. They traded kicks to open the round, followed by an exchange of punches. It unfolded into a solid action round, with Gordon ending up in top position to end the round after a brief ground sequence. According to UFC stats, Gordon landed 58 percent of his significant strike attempts in the round compared with 41 percent for Pimblett.

The second round landed pretty solidly on the Liverpudlian's ledger. The first major offense of the round was a left kick from Pimblett, which Gordon partially blocked but still absorbed. From there it was a back-and-forth round, with both men landing solid blows. A Pimblett left hook found the body.

The thing about Pimblett is how hittable he is. Some fans may forget that he made his bones as a grappler back in his days on the European circuit. Instead of working his craft, however, he keeps his hands low and looks for the brawl instead. And he got it from Gordon, who traded with Pimblett inside the proverbial phone booth. A late flurry from Pimblett—following an eye-poke warning, no less—helped seal the round.

Early in the third, Gordon scored a takedown on Pimblett to the mat briefly, though the action ultimately returned to the clinch. After some inactivity, the boos rained down in the arena, but this was Gordon's wheelhouse. The third round was a bit of a slog, but ended with Gordon racking up a dominant 3:53 of control time.

There's a well-worn saying in MMA: never leave it in the hands of the judges. Gordon, despite a workmanlike effort, ultimately fell short in a close contest that saw both fighters give and take a lot of offense. The final score, all 29-28 scores for Pimblett.

(It should be noted that the UFC 282 main event, a bout for the vacant light heavyweight title between Jan Blachowicz and Magomed Ankalaev, ended in a questionable judges' decision that resulted in a split draw and no new champion crowned.)

In thanking Gordon on the mic afterwards, Pimblett referenced Gordon's "trials and tribulations" in a clear nod to Gordon's public battles with addiction—addiction so serious that an overdose once purportedly left him "legally dead" for two minutes. He even expressed interest in getting involved with Gordon's charitable efforts around the issue.

There's no question Pimblett can come off as a likable dude. He's certainly the president of his own fan club, and that's always entertaining in and of itself. But his comments earlier in fight week showed a less-charming side.

UFC 282 fight week had its own tempest in a teapot, courtesy of Pimblett. In cozying up on a podcast hosted by none other than UFC president Dana White, Pimblett accused widely known MMA reporter Ariel Helwani of lacking journalistic integrity and suggested he should pay his interview subjects for their time. It was a much more understandable line of thinking when remembering that White has long feuded with Helwani.

On his own show, Helwani offered an extended, vigorous response to the comments, which provided their own ripple effect, and so on.

Pimblett seemed to attempt to make light of it in his post-fight chat with Rogan, asking Rogan "have you consulted my manager to see how much you're paying me for this interview?"

I'm not his manager or anything, but someone might want to give Pimblett some good, old-fashioned media training. Not just on what to say but how it works. Respecting and understanding the professions of those around you is key for a guy whose star is only continuing to grow. Wow, that made me sound like an old man.

As for what's next inside the lines, Pimblett was coy when Rogan asked him about his next opponent.

"We'll see," he said.

Pimblett is now 20-3 overall and 4-0 since jumping to the UFC in 2021. This was the first of his fights to go to a decision. He's got a high-wattage personality, he's got flaws in his game that leave him vulnerable to the right opponent, and he's a talented and genuinely tough competitor with all the makes of a tentpole star for the UFC, across the pond as well as in Las Vegas.

UFC president Dana White said during an interview with ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Thursday that fight fixing has become a pressing issue amid an investigation into betting activity related to a November fight.

"Huge concern," White said, per ESPN's Marc Raimondi. "... Now that there's an investigation and it could be possible that it happened, yeah."

White added:

"In every sport, somebody thinks they're smarter than everybody else when really they're the dumbest guy in the room. And you will get caught -- you will get caught and you will go to prison. It is what it is. If you're that dumb and you're willing to take that risk for money. Ruin your life for money. We can tell people until we're blue in the face. Same thing as steroids, performance-enhancing drugs. 'Don't do it, USADA is testing, you're gonna get caught.' But this is a whole other level. ... If you're that stupid, have fun in prison."

A Nov. 5 bout between Darrick Minner and Shayilan Nuerdanbieke at UFC Fight Night 214 is under investigation after a number of sportsbooks reported receiving "unusual betting interest" on Nuerdanbieke to win via first-round knockout, in addition to the fight lasting fewer than 2.5 rounds, just hours before the match.

Nuerdanbieke, the favorite, defeated Minner via first-round TKO in 1:07.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission has since suspended Minner and his coach, James Krause, pending the results of multiple investigations. In addition, UFC released Minner and announced any fighter who continues to train under Krause would not be allowed to participate in UFC events while the investigations are ongoing.

Krause has been known for betting on MMA fights, even ones he's coaching. During an interview on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani in August, he said that he bets on fights for himself and others.

"I bet every single card just about every fight," Krause said, via Karim Zidan of The Guardian. "I have a Discord [server], like 2,000 members in it, we crush it. Last week, we destroyed it. I take over people's accounts and play for them, I do pretty well. I make more money gambling on MMA than I do anything else."

UFC has since updated its Code of Conduct, prohibiting contracted fighters, coaches and family members of fighters from betting on bouts. Additionally, multiple commissions have paused betting on UFC fights altogether with investigations ongoing.