UFC fighter Stephan Bonnar announced yesterday that he is retiring from mixed martial arts at age 35, saying in a message on Facebook that all he ever wanted was to bring some fun to fans.

Bonnar is credited – along with his opponent at the time Forrest Griffin – for putting UFC back on the map years ago with the first edition of The Ultimate Fighter. Bonnar and Griffin went all-out for three rounds, holding nothing back and beating each other for fifteen minutes in one of the most amazing UFC matches ever. Despite Griffin winning the fight and the UFC contract, Bonnar was also signed to a deal.

Bonnar departs the UFC with an MMA record of 17-8 and his last fight was a defeat against arguably the best MMA fighter on the planet – Anderson Silva. The two fought earlier in October in Brazil in a light heavyweight match after the main event for UFC 153 went up in smoke due to injuries. Both Silva and Bonnar stepped up on short notice to fight each other and Silva finished off Bonnar late in the first round.