UFC on FOX 2 Results: 5 Questions We Have for Michael Bisping

Following his loss Saturday to Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2, Michael Bisping has a lot of questions to answer.

And while he took the matchup with Sonnen on short notice following an injury to Mark Munoz, despite already being scheduled to face Demian Maia on the main card, Bisping failed to capitalize on what now looks like his only foreseeable opportunity for a shot at Anderson Silva's UFC title.

That right has been captured by Sonnen, who outmuscled, outworked and outperformed the 32-year-old Brit.

At this point in his career, with the arrival of middleweight contenders like Munoz, Brian Stann, Cung Le and now Chris Weidman, Bisping's remaining time in the UFC is going to full of obstacles.

With that said, how will the veteran respond to possibly losing out on his last championship opportunity of his career?

Here are the top five burning questions that we have for Bisping and his UFC future.

5. What Can He Take from His Loss to Chael Sonnen?

Michael Bisping did few things right against Chael Sonnen at UFC on FOX 2.

Sure he stuffed some takedowns and actually had Sonnen pinned up against the cage on occasion, but Bisping never really had control of the three-round bout.

Sonnen worked Bisping from bell to bell, using his cardio and strong frame to suffocate the Brit en route to a unanimous decision.  But despite his flaws, Bisping wasn't a complete flop.

His striking looked great and the before mentioned cage transitions, such as pinning a great wrestler like Sonnen down, are worthwhile things to bring home to mom.  Or should I say mum?

Bisping did land some significant punches, and didn't look too gassed to keep throwing them in the later minutes of the fight.

So despite getting overpowered, Bisping's formidable stand-up game and surprising conditioning relieve a little pain from what looked like his most devastating loss of his five-year career.

4. Is His International Image Too Much to Satisfy?

Riding the UFC's international initiative to globalize their brand, Michael Bisping has become one of the most recognizable fighters in the organization.

His brash comments and British persona often clash will American stereotypes and expectations, but he is a very popular fighter nonetheless.

However, with popularity comes responsibility, especially when it means you're representing an entire country like England.

To this point, Bisping has done an exceptional job at being "that guy" for oversea fans.  But as he gets older and starts losing fights to more well-rounded middleweight contenders, his mass appeal and promotional potential will ultimately go down.

How does that fare in the mind of Bisping, the fighter?

How does that play into his preparation before fights?

Is it too much?  If so, can he still be a successful fighter without the UFC's willingness to plug his international popularity?

These are all good questions, but ones that only Bisping can answer.  It may not be too much now, but his worldwide recognition could in fact lead to his demise.

3. What's the One Thing Holding Him Back?

With one of the most well-rounded striking arsenals in the middleweight division today, there's only one true aspect of Michael Bisping's game that needs improvement.

It's his ground skills.

Bisping's recent loss to Chael Sonnen came at the hands of being overmatched, outwrestled and outpowered against the cage, culminating into Bisping's inability to separate and land punches.

Now while Bisping's more recent bouts fail to show how vulnerable he is to the takedown, you have to remember that most of his opponents throughout his UFC career have been strikers.  Guys willing to stand and mix it up.

If you take a look at his fights against Sonnen, Rashad Evans and Matt Hamill, Bisping has been taken down 16 times in 12 rounds.  That's the kind of production you'd expect from the Brit when matched up against pure wrestlers.

With an alarming inability to keep it standing against high level takedown artists, Bisping's success atop the middleweight division isn't going to last much longer.

He has yet to face them, but I'm assuming both Mark Munoz and Brian Stann would have similar success to that of Sonnen.

2. How Long Can He Last in the Middleweight Division?

Michael Bisping's future in the middleweight division is still up in the air.

He obviously has trouble defending anything and everything powerful wrestlers throw at him, and he doesn't necessarily have the one-punch KO power that Mark Munoz, Chris Leben and Wanderlei Silva do.  So where does that leave Bisping?

To be honest, in limbo. 

He could eventually decide to test the waters once again at light heavyweight, but at the age of 32, on top of not being an overly powerful striker, that seems highly unlikely.  Because frankly, Bisping wasn't anything special when he fought at 205 lbs from 2004-2007.

He could drop down, but losing 15 pounds in today's game takes away from your cardio.  And we all know Bisping didn't get famous in MMA for having awesome conditioning, despite looking fairly fresh against Chael Sonnen Saturday night.

So at this point, it's difficult to gauge how the next few years will go for Bisping within the middleweight division.  He obviously has some major issues to hash out, but he's healthy and eager to bring England a UFC championship.

1. Will He Ever Get a Title Shot?

This is the No. 1 burning question.  Will Michael Bisping ever capitalize on his striking capabilities and overall popularity to ever win a UFC championship?

Honestly I don't see it, but that's just me. 

After dropping No. 1 contender rights to Chael Sonnen, Bisping is going to have start all over again.  And as I mentioned before, solidified studs like Mark Munoz, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Brian Stann, Chris Weidman and Cung Le aren't going to make that easy.

With all of those names in the running for current and future title fights, it's borderline insane to think Bisping will get another opportunity like Saturday night within the next two years.

And to think he came relatively close to upsetting Sonnen and moving on to meet Anderson Silva for the middleweight championship...

I don't know if his best days are behind him, but Bisping's overall accomplishments deserve recognition.  In a division full of wrestlers and dynamic strikers, Bisping was able to stay afloat for nearly four years, despite criticism revolving around the UFC throwing him strictly stand-up guys.

Regardless, it's important to understand that fighters need to win almost every fight they have in order to gain momentum in their respective divisions.  If you lose, sorry, down the ladder you go.

Unfortunately for Bisping, he's going to have to take a backseat to a whole hodgepodge of fighters over the next year or two.

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