UFC on FOX 2 Fight Card: Michael Bisping vs. Chael Sonnen Breakdown

Originally scheduled to fight Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2, Mark Munoz was forced out of the event due to an arm injury.

Munoz's loss turned into Michael Bisping's gain, as the British fighter ditched his fight with Demian Maia to meet Sonnen in a bout that will determine the next middleweight contender.

Though Sonnen's fight with Munoz would have been an interesting fight itself, a bout between long-winded middleweights Sonnen and Bisping is arguably more intriguing to fans and should provide some interesting back-and-forth banter in the days leading up to UFC on FOX 2.

Before Sonnen and Bisping step into the Octagon for a fight to determine who will get the next shot at Anderson Silva, let's take a look at how this middleweight matchup could play out in all areas.

Stand-Up

Striking

When predicting a fight between Sonnen and Bisping, most would jump to the conclusion that the outcome depended on whether or not Sonnen is able to take the Englishman to the ground.

While that could turn out to be the case, it might not be as much of a given as it might seem. For a fighter so known for his wrestling, Sonnen has shown some solid boxing over the course of his career, even landing some solid shot against middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Bisping is a volume puncher with great accuracy, so he does have an advantage over Sonnen in the striking department, but a stand-up fight would not result in a sure win for the pride of British MMA. 

Edge: Bisping

Chin

Sonnen and Bisping both have very solid chins, so it's doubtful that we'll see any one-punch knockouts in this matchup.

Many point to Bisping's brutal knockout loss against Dan Henderson as reason to believe he can't take a punch, but Bisping has otherwise never been finished, and Henderson could also probably knockout an adult male rhino with his right hand.

That being said, Sonnen does deserve a slight advantage over Bisping in his ability to take a punch. Though he has two knockout losses on his record, those results came via cut and corner stoppage. Sonnen has never technically been knocked out in any of his 38 professional fights.

Edge: Sonnen

Takedowns/Takedown Defense

One of the first English fighters to display a really well-rounded game in MMA, Bisping has developed good takedown defense to allow himself the opportunity to stand with opponents.

Unfortunately for Bisping, good takedown defense isn't good enough against an elite wrestler like Sonnen. Even with a full training camp of preparing for Sonnen's explosive takedowns, Bisping would have had his hands full in trying to keep this fight standing.

Since Bisping has likely been working more on submission defense for a previously scheduled fight with Demian Maia, his takedown defense probably won't be nearly where it needs to be in order to stuff Sonnen's attempts.

It's inevitable that this fight will go to the ground with Sonnen on top of Bisping.

Edge: Sonnen

Ground Game

Grappling/Positioning/Control

Sonnen may have his lapses on the ground from time to time, but they're never related to his ability to keep his opponent's back on the canvas.

Once Sonnen has a fighter on the ground, it's likely that the fight will stay there until the end of the round unless the Team Quest product gets caught with a submission.

When, not if, Bisping gets taken down, his best bet is to attack Sonnen with submission attempt after submission attempt rather than spending energy trying to escape.

Edge: Sonnen

Submissions/Submission Defense

Obviously, given my above take on the grappling aspect of this fight, Bisping holds a significant advantage in the submission realm, as many opponents do against Sonnen.

Every loss Sonnen has ever had inside the Octagon has been a result of an opponent submission off of their back.

Bisping has never recorded a submission in his UFC career, but he does have an underrated ground game and forced a handful of opponents to tap prior to joining the UFC.

In order to win this fight and earn the first title shot of his career, Bisping may have to capture his first submission victory under the UFC banner.

Edge: Bisping

Ground Striking

Sonnen and Bisping are excellent at landing a high percentage of their strikes on the ground. Both fighters have finished their fair share of fights with ground-and-pound.

Though he has finished a number of opponents with punches on the ground, Sonnen has never finished a UFC opponent with strikes. Instead, Sonnen has used his ground-and-pound to set up guard passes and the occasional submission attempt.

For Bisping, ground striking likely won't come into play in this fight. If Sonnen is on his back at an point in this fight, he has bigger problems than worrying about Bisping's ground-and-pound.

Edge: Push

Intangibles

Experience/Game Plan

Although Sonnen has competed in 13 more MMA fights than Bisping, there comes a point when fighters who have competed in as many big fights as Bisping aren't at any disadvantage in terms of experience.

Bisping has competed in some of the biggest events in UFC history and has never seemed to fold under the pressure.

Both Sonnen and Bisping come from solid camps at Team Quest and Wolfslair. Since there is no secret what either fighter will want to do during the fight on Saturday, this matchup should simply come down to skill and the matchup of styles. 

Edge: Push

Strength/Quickness/Reach

In terms of pure athleticism, Sonnen and Bisping are fairly evenly matched. 

With the ease in which he tossed Brian Stann around the Octagon in his previous fight, it's probably safe to say that Sonnen is the stronger competitor heading into this fight. Bisping, though, is much lighter on his feet and possesses a modest reach advantage.

On Saturday, both fighters will attempt to use their own unique attributes to exploit the other fighter's weaknesses.

Edge: Push

Conditioning

One thing you definitely won't see in this fight between Sonnen and Bisping is an out-of-gas fighter. Both middleweights are well-conditioned, world-class athletes ready to go hard for even longer than the maximum of 15 minutes this fight will last.

Both fighters have gone to their fair share of decisions over the years, but neither has ever seemed to fade in the late rounds of their fights.

Edge: Push

Prediction

If Bisping had even one submission against a high-level opponent, this would be an extremely tough fight to call. However, Bisping doesn't seem to have the submission game off his back that he would need to deter Sonnen from taking this fight to the ground.

Even in the off chance that Bisping does keep this fight standing, it wouldn't be safe to count Sonnen out of a stand-up fight. Sonnen found success against in the striking department against middleweight champ Anderson Silva, who is widely considered the best striker in all of MMA.

If Bisping is somehow able to stuff Sonnen's takedowns, his chances of victory would increase greatly. Though, with Sonnen's outstanding wrestling and ability to stand toe-to-toe with other excellent strikers, he's the safe bet to walk away with the win in this fight.

Sonnen has dismissed the idea that Silva will ever take a rematch with him, but a win over Bisping on Saturday will force the UFC to step in and make the fight happen.

Sonnen defeats Bisping by unanimous decision.

Sean Smith is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. For the latest insight and updates on everything MMA, you can follow Sean on Twitter @SeanSmithMMA.

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