Stephan Bonnar doesn't fight for belts, he fights for the 'challenge' and 'fun' of it

For all intents and purposes, Stephan Bonnar was pretty much retired from mixed martial arts (MMA).

"The American Psycho" led many to believe that if he didn't get a high-profile fight soon, he didn't see any point in continuing on with his fighting career.

After all, Bonnar has competed for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for almost seven years now and when his pleas to get a coaching gig on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) opposite Forrest Griffin went unanswered, he felt it was time to throw in the towel.

After a having a conversation with UFC President Dana White and not coming out of the meeting with what we wanted and leaning more toward retirement through the recommendations of White, Bonnar pretty much had made up his mind.

Then, as luck would have it, perhaps the biggest fight he could ever possibly dream of came knocking at his door.

A once-in a lifetime opportunity to face the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world, UFC middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, which was truly a surprise for Bonnar, as he revealed at the UFC 153 media conference call.

"It really came by surprise honestly. I campaigned for some big fights but I couldn't get them. In my head, I was trying to get over this whole fighting thing. I talked to Dana and we had different viewpoints on how a fighter should feel and it looked like I wasn't getting any of the things I asked for, so it was no big deal, if I'm not going to get the big fights, I have no problem not doing this and that's how I felt. I've never been hungry for the title. I always felt like no matter where I'm at in a fight card, I can steal the show. I was just honest. I guess I could have lied to him told him I was hungry for the title and got that job coaching TUF against Forrest. But, I didn't. I told him how I really felt and his viewpoint is, 'What's the point of a guy hanging around the division? It doesn't make sense. If you're not going for the title then you should just hang it up.' I kind of like hanging around the division. Just going in there and fighting people. It's a challenge, that's how I always felt about fighting, I always did it for fun, not really for any belts. Now I'm fighting the greatest pound-for-pound guy who's been a champion for a long time and it's not for a belt. Is it not a big deal because a belt isn't on the line? Hell no. It'll be the greatest moment of my life if I win."

Though many aren't giving Bonnar a chance at actually winning the bout, one thing is certain -- Stephan will not go down without a fight and is determined to show he isn't just in there to lay down for anyone, including one of the all-time greats.

Not having a title on the line doesn't matter to Bonnar, who says he never cared much for accolades, all he wanted to do was fight the best guys for the fun and challenge of it and had quite a career doing it.

Arguably, the biggest challenge of his MMA career is only a few days away and "The American Psycho" has the chance to turn the fight world upside down.

How about it Maniacs, are you giving Bonnar the slightest chance in taking down the 185-pound kingpin? Or will he just be another notch under Silva's already crowded belt?