With Mark Munoz’s injury, Michael Bisping has been bumped up to the co-main event of the UFC on Fox 2 event. Bisping is finally within reach of the title shot that he’s been searching for.
However, it won’t be easy, as Bisping has to defeat the consensus No. 2 middleweight in the world in Chael Sonnen. There are a few things that must happen in order for Bisping to spoil a Sonnen-Anderson Silva rematch:
The first will be his foot work.
Bisping will need to implement a hit-and-run tactic and avoid Sonnen. It’s not that Sonnen has knockout power in his hands, but he needs to be a moving target against Sonnen’s takedowns.
By popping Sonnen in the head and body, and preventing him from getting a hold of Bisping, the Brit will frustrate Sonnen.
Although Bisping has showed good striking and will likely make it difficult for Sonnen to take him down, the odds are Bisping will end up on his back at least once during the fight. Bisping isn’t too concerned about that, however.
Chael Sonnen can take me down if he likes, because I know I can submit him off my back. I know I can. That’s his big weakness. I may not have a black belt, but I consider myself a black belt. I’ve been rolling with Jake Shields, Dean Lister and a wash of other world champions. Believe me, if Chael Sonnen takes me down, he better be prepared to get submitted.
While Bisping may have confidence in his submission game, I think he forgets who the people submitting Sonnen throughout his career were. Guys like Silva, Demian Maia, Jeremy Horn and Renato Sobral certainly have better ground games than Bisping.
Can Bisping submit Sonnen? Absolutely. But “The Count” shouldn’t count on that being part of his gameplan.
Sonnen is one of the strongest middleweights in the UFC, and his top control is some of the best in the world. Bisping won’t find a lot of room to maneuver with Sonnen on top of him, constantly punching the Brit in the face.
It’s good that Bisping seems to have accepted the fact that he’s going to get taken down, because there’s a very good chance he will.
But Bisping also needs to realize that his greatest chance for victory lies with both fighters standing.
For what Chael Sonnen must do to win, check this out.
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