Stephan Bonnar gives his perspective on Garcia vs. Sung Jung slugfest

By Brett Okamoto

Sunday, May 16, 2010 | 10:30 a.m.

The similarities between last month’s WEC fight featuring Leonard Garcia and Chan Sung Jung in Sacramento, Calif. and the 2006 slugfest between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar at the TUF 1 finale are obvious.

Even eerie.

Stylistically, they came down to two fighters standing in the pocket and swinging as hard as they could. They both came at the perfect time for their respective organizations. They were even officiated by the same referee, Herb Dean.

It’s something that wasn’t lost on many of the thousands watching Garcia edge Sung Jung in a split decision on April 24 — including Bonnar himself.

“It was a great fight. Right after it got done, I watched it again,” Bonnar said. “It was really similar in that it was a great fight at the perfect time.

"What made my fight with Forrest so good the first time was it was the first time UFC was on TV. A lot of people were on the fence and didn’t know if they would like it or not. We won a lot of people’s hearts.”

That 2006 fight is considered by many, including UFC president Dana White, to be the biggest moment in the company’s history.

Although the Garcia vs. Sung Jung fight probably won’t be remembered quite to that level, they couldn’t have planned to have it at a better time.

The featherweight bout was aired live on Spike TV, moments before the first WEC pay-per-view card was scheduled to run.

It’s hard to determine exactly what impact that fight had on the eventual pay-per-view numbers that night, but given that the event exceeded company expectations, according to White, it didn’t hurt.

Considering that the UFC and WEC have now been fortunate enough to have two perfect fights at the right time might suggest that it had to do with the situation itself. Bonnar, however, believes it’s been more about the matchups then the pressures of putting on a good show.

“I think it was the matchups,” Bonnar said. “We all know Leonard Garcia. He’s the type of guy that likes to swing for the fences. We had never seen this ‘Korean Zombie’ (Sung Jung) before. That guy could take a punch and likes to do the same thing.

“So you have two guys standing in the pocket, swinging as hard as they can and eating some punches. It makes for a great fight.”

Watching a fight so similar to his, Bonnar admitted he did find himself looking back on the TUF 1 finale that has become one of the more famous fights ever in MMA.

It seems that every longtime MMA fan can remember something about that fight. For Bonnar it was the surprise of Griffin getting to him early and the moment he realized they were in the middle of something special.

“What I really remember is Forrest saying he was a slow starter,” Bonnar said. “He came out and blasted me with five or six good shots in the face before I even touched him. I was thinking, ‘Who’s the slow starter?’ Then, I finally got in my rhythm and got him back.

“I wasn’t aware it was such a great fight until the third round. That whole round, people were stomping their feet and the place was actually shaking. It felt like an earthquake. I remember thinking, ‘Ah, this must be a good one.’”

Brett Okamoto can be reached at 948-7817 or [email protected].