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Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar is a duo of fights starting in the finals of The Ultimate Fighter 1 contest which received national acclaim, and was highly regarded among fans as one of the most exciting, greatest and memorable fights in the history of not only the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) but of mixed martial arts (MMA) in general.
Bonnar was born in Hammond, Indiana, and raised in Munster, Indiana, attending Munster High School. [6] Bonnar had an extensive background in combat sports, beginning with wrestling when he was 10 years old, Taekwondo at age 12, Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 22, and then added boxing and Muay Thai when he was 24 years old.
Even though both Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar had good records at the time (Griffin 9–2, Bonnar 7–1), many were expecting this fight to be nothing more than filler before the main event between UFC legend Ken Shamrock and rising superstar Rich Franklin. Both fighters had rough, controversial, and impressive wins to make it to the finale.
Stephan Bonnar, whose fight with Forrest Griffin in the first The Ultimate Fighter finale remains one of the greatest in UFC history, died Thursday at 45.
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The historic Forrest Griffin vs. Stephan Bonnar fight in the first season drew millions of viewers to the show and launched the sport into the mainstream. Because of this success, The Ultimate Fighter was regarded as instrumental to the survival and expansion of the UFC and mixed martial arts into the mainstream.
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Although Rory had made a name for himself as a 185-pound prospect; his big break came after meeting the producers of TUF. They were filming Forrest Griffin at The HardCore Gym for his fight against Stephan Bonnar in the finals of season 1. Forrest went on to win Season 1 and Rory was approached soon after to appear on Season 3.