UFC 139: Stephan Bonnar fights smart

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Stephan Bonnar returned to the cage for the first time in nearly a year, and he fought like the Bonnar of old, just without the early and easy flow of blood from his face to the octagon canvas.

Bonnar controlled the ground game in the second round and rode the grappling game to a unanimous decision victory over light heavyweight Kyle Kingsbury at UFC 139 on Saturday night. The judges scored the bout, 30-27, 30-25, 30-27.

Bonnar (17-7) dominated Kingsbury (11-3), and while the fans inside the HP Pavilion booed and screamed "Stand 'em up" repeatedly, Bonnar fought smart. Kingsbury gave him no reason to change up what was working, so even though Bonnar could be seen saying "I'm sorry" to the angry mob after the fight, it was the right move. His job is to win the fight first, entertain second.

"I'm not used to fans booing my fights," Bonnar said.

The first round was wildly entertaining as both fighters pushed the pace and landed significant strikes. We were close to having a "Rocky II" moment midway through the first round when both Bonnar and Kingsbury connected on big punches to the head at the same time. Kingsbury stumbled a bit, Bonnar did not. The final two rounds were not descriptive enough to elaborate on what was mentioned above.