Is Stephan Bonnar's UFC Career on the Line in Australia?

By Ariel Helwani - Video Reporter and Writer

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Following Stephan Bonnar's UFC 94 loss to Jon Jones, Dana White said on his video blog that Bonnar, a finalist on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter, would always have a home in the UFC. After all, Bonnar's three-round epic battle against Forrest Griffin in the TUF 1 Finals helped kick start the UFC's resurgence in 2005.

But after another loss to Mark Coleman at UFC 100, which marked his 4th in 6 fights, one has to wonder whether Bonnar will still have a fighting future in the UFC should he lose to Krzysztof Soszynski at UFC 110 in Australia.

Bonnar, however, doesn't seem concerned about his UFC future right now because he knows he didn't perform at his best in his last two fights.

"It sucks to lose two fights in a row," he said. "I felt I tried to come back too early against (Jon) Jones and didn't feel good in that fight at all. I felt I did pretty good against (Mark) Coleman to begin with and beat him up pretty good in the first round. He caught me with an elbow and then when he's on top it's just very hard keeping him off. He's a big, strong guy and he's used to being in that top position. Credit to Coleman, he kept working and working and eventually got the takedown again in the third round. I was working from the bottom and going for stuff, but I probably would have been better served to stand with him and try to get results there."

Despite the fact that Soszynski lost to Brandon Vera in his most recent fight at UFC 102, "The Polish Experiment" isn't facing a must-win situation. Prior to the loss, Soszynski had won his last six fights in a row. Nevertheless, in the loaded UFC light heavyweight division, a two-fight losing streak is a tough hole to climb out of.

Just ask Bonnar.

But "The American Psycho" is still as confident as ever that he will have his way with Soszynski come Feb. 21.

"I was pretty excited by the idea of this fight with Soszynski. It should be fun beating him up. I've seen a decent amount of him. I've seen him in the IFL, I've seen him on The Ultimate Fighter TV show and I've seen him in the actual UFC. He's strong and has good power in his hands. I feel I'm slicker and have better technical skills.

"I can see both of us going for takedowns and also standing up and banging it out. I've seen Krzysztof try to take his last couple of opponents down and also seen him settle fights with submissions. I figure that's what he likes to do. I also think we could both keep it standing and trade shots there. This fight could go anywhere."

What do you think? Should the UFC part ways with Bonnar if he loses to Soszynski, or does he deserve a life-time spot on the active roster due to the significance of his fight against Griffin in April 2005?

Read More: ufc 110, news, Krzysztof Soszynski (MMA), Stephan Bonnar (MMA)

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