In another universe, at UFC on Fox 2, Chael Sonnen will still be fighting his original opponent, Mark Munoz. Fortunately, we live in the best universe where Chael Sonnen instead fights Michael Bisping. The UFC planned for the two controversial fighters to be the coaches for the fourteenth season of the Ultimate Fighter, but Chael's issues with the California commission and Keith Kizer's personal vendetta prevented that plan from coming to fruition.
Jonathan Snowden, the lead MMA writer on Bleacher Report, had the opportunity to speak with not only Sonnen but also his coaches to find out how the gangster from West Linn, Oregon is handling the change in opponent.
"We were actually kind of happy. We weren't really concerned at all. In a way, we thought this wasn't that much different than the Brian Stann fight," Sonnen's head coach Scott McQuary said. "Except Stann hits a hell of a lot harder...Bisping breaks easily. I think he's mentally weak. Watch how he fought Dan Henderson. I think he was totally intimidated. And I think he's going to be intimidated by Chael too...Chael is such a hard worker and he has such a fast past. Bisping is much more lackadaisical."
Emphasis mine. Judging from Scott McQuary's response, the Sonnen camp doesn't have much respect for Michael Bisping's skills. They know that Chael is a dominant wrestler who should be able to get takedown after takedown. They also know that while Bisping is a competent grappler, there is no real danger of being submitted by the Brit. Snowden did attempt to get an answer out of Sonnen but received little insight into his mindset with Sonnen playing dumb whenever asked about the fight.
Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping square off this weekend for a shot at Anderson Silva's belt. That title fight is rumored to happen in Sao Paulo this summer at the Estadio do Morumbi, which will hold around 70,000 people. It should be added that Sonnen has said on record that he doesn't believe that Silva will accept the fight.
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