We report an investigation of the dynamics of the three-magnon splitting process associated with the ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) in films of the insulating ferrimagnet yttrium iron garnet (YIG). The experiments are performed with a 6 μm thick YIG film close to a microstrip line fed by a microwave generator operating in the 2–6 GHz range. The magnetization precession is driven by the microwave rf magnetic field perpendicular to the static magnetic field, and its dynamics is observed by monitoring the amplitude of the FMR absorption peak. The time evolution of the amplitude reveals that if the frequency is lowered below a critical value of 3.3 GHz, the FMR mode pumps two magnons with opposite wave vectors that react back on the FMR, resulting in a nonlinear dynamics of the magnetization. The results are explained by a model with coupled nonlinear equations describing the time evolution of the magnon modes.