Stephan Bonnar has come out of retirement, signing a new contract with Bellator MMA.
The contract was announced on Wednesday by Bellator officials, and the deal provides an opportunity for the UFC Hall of Famer to do commentary, according to MMAjunkie. The terms of the deal have not been revealed yet.
Bonnar is also looking to have a fight scheduled with rival Tito Ortiz, a fellow UFC Hall of Famer.
"I want everyone to know I'm coming out of retirement because it's time to free the MMA world of the virus that's known as Tito Ortiz," Bonnar said. "We've been suffering through his boring fights for too many years, and it's about time that someone beats it out of him once and for all."
Bonnar retired from MMA after his loss to Anderson Silva via TKO at UFC 153 in 2012, MMA Fighting reported. He was suspended for one year after the fight for testing positive for the anabolic steroid Drostanolone. The incident was the second time that Bonnar was suspended, the first coming after losing to Forrest Griffin in 2006 at UFC 62 when he tested positive for metabolites of Boldenone, another anabolic steroid.
Despite these incidents, Bonnar still received support from the UFC, which believed his first fight with Griffin in 2005 at the Ultimate Fighter Finale 1 helped make the sport popular again. He received support throughout his career from UFC president Dana White, who inducted him into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2013.
"I don't think people realize, really, really realize, what [Griffin vs. Bonnar 1] meant to this sport and this company," White said at the time. "It wasn't just Forrest. Both of those guys took us to this next level. He's being inducted for that one fight that took this thing to the next level."
Scott Coker, President of Bellator, said the company is excited to have Bonnar (15-8 MMA) on its roster, MMAjunkie reported.
"He was one half of probably the greatest and one of the most important fights in MMA history, and it happened on Spike," Coker said. "When you look at our light heavyweight division, with names like (Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson), Tito, (Muhammed 'King Mo' Lawal), Emanuel Newton and others, there are a lot of fights Stephan can be involved in. Big fights against big names. After talking to Stephan, I know that's what he wants, and we want to provide that to our fans."
