Stephan and Andrea Bonnar contemplating naming unborn son after former foe Forrest Griffin
LAS VEGAS – UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar will become a first-time father sometime in October. There is a chance his new son will enter this world as he's fighting Anderson Silva in the main event of UFC 153 on Oct. 13 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
But whenever he comes, he might have a pretty catchy name.
Bonnar and his wife, Andrea, haven't decided definitively upon a name for their unborn son, but one name they've kicked around is Griffin.
As in, Griffin Bonnar. For those who aren't long-time mixed martial arts fans, those words have significant meaning in the sport.
On April 1, 2005, papa-to-be Stephan Bonnar and Forrest Griffin put on one of the great fights in UFC history in the finale of Season 1 of "The Ultimate Fighter," in Las Vegas. Roots of Fight, an apparel company that specializes in MMA clothing, came out with a T-shirt to memorialize the bout. Of course, it's known as "Griffin vs. Bonnar, American Classic."
At the time of Griffin-Bonnar, the UFC was $44 million in debt and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta had ordered president Dana White to explore selling it.
Then, the epic match happened and the history of the UFC was changed forever. And Griffin-Bonnar I remains one of the sport's great fights.
"We wouldn't be talking today were it not for that fight," White told Yahoo! Sports in 2009. "At one point during that fight, we got up to 10 million viewers, whether through channel surfing or people calling each other and asking, 'Are you watching this fight?' Once that fight happened, things started to turn the other way."
[Related: Stephan Bonnar takes Anderson Silva fight despite tough circumstances]
The Bonnars considered naming their son Stephan Patrick Bonnar Jr. Though they haven't decided for sure, they kind of soured on it.
"If he has that name, Stephan Bonnar, will he have to be an MMA fighter?" Andrea Bonnar asked.
They've talked about naming him Brandon, in memory of Andrea's late brother, Brandon Brown.
But Griffin remains seriously in the hunt as a very real, and cool, possibility for the baby's name.
"It started as a joke, but it kind of grew on us, to name him Griffin," Andrea Bonnar said. "Then he'd be Griffin Bonnar. It would be such a cute name and it would kind of create a tie to his dad."
No decision, though, will be made until baby Bonnar is born.
"We've got a couple of good ones in the bank, and we'll look at him when he comes out and decide," she said, laughing.
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