He earned his black belt in Taekwondo at the age of 16 and was a two-time Golden Gloves Champion in the super heavyweight division.

[7] Bonnar began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu with Carlson Gracie during the summer of 1999, under whom he received his purple belt.

After his loss to Griffin, Bonnar became the staple of the regular UFC Ultimate Fight Night shows at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, defeating such notables as Sam Hoger, James Irvin and Keith Jardine before succumbing to Rashad Evans by majority decision.

[10] Bonnar mentioned on the MMA Live Post Fight Show for UFC 101 that he was considering a drop down to Middleweight after two disappointing losses at Light Heavyweight.

Video replays that showed that the cut was opened up by a clash of heads led Bonnar to appeal referee John Sharp's decision.

The two UFC vets squared off in a Light Heavyweight match October 13, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

[20] After his loss to Silva it was announced on October 30, 2012, by UFC president Dana White that Bonnar had retired from MMA competition.

[26] Bonnar made his Impact Wrestling debut on November 5, 2017, teaming with Moose losing to King Mo and Bobby Lashley at Bound for Glory (2017) in Ottawa, Canada.

[28] During the Impact Wrestling October tapings from Las Vegas, Bonnar faced Moose in a repeat of their contest from Victory Road.

[32] Outside of competition, Bonnar has done commentary work for televised mixed martial arts programming, notably serving as the WEC's color commentator for most of 2010, calling 5 of their final 7 cards.

[34] After retiring from the mixed martial arts, Bonnar was appointed the president of North Star Combat, a Minnesota-based MMA promotion.

At approximately 1:15 p.m., the Nevada highway patrol received multiple reports that there was a red Cadillac, a vehicle owned and being driven by Bonnar, observed driving recklessly and making unsafe lane changes.

When the NHP arrived on scene, they witnessed Bonnar had both hands tied and strung up to each side of his inside car handles.

Bonnar was arrested on scene, refused to comply or respond to officers commands, and had to be carried and laid inside the back of the patrol car.