Photo by Nick Laham/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
In the co-main event of UFC on Fox 2, Chael Sonnen booked a date in a Brazilian soccer stadium by narrowly defeating a very game Michael Bisping.The scores weren't very indicative of how close the fight was, but Sonnen took all three cards with a 30-27 and two 29-28's. Both the first and second rounds were very close, with Bisping doing an excellent job of avoiding Sonnen's takedowns, and popping right back up if he did get taken down. The first round looked to be Chael's, the second Bisping's. The third round was a different story though, with Sonnen getting a takedown into side control and eventually advancing to the mount position for an extended period of time. Bisping eventually escaped and briefly got on top, but it was too late.
The winner of this bout was guaranteed a shot at Anderson Silva's UFC middleweight title, and Sonnen will now likely meet Silva in the summer (even though he insists Silva won't take the fight). It will be a rematch of their classic UFC 117 bout.
What was the high spot of this fight?
Sonnen's advance to mount and attempts to set up an arm triangle were pretty interesting. Neither of the fighters managed to catch each other with anything devastating on the feet, so that'd probably be it in my opinion.
Where do these guys go from here?
Sonnen's path looks pretty clear. He keeps saying Anderson Silva won't fight him, but Dana White has made it clear that Sonnen will be rematching Silva in a soccer stadium, likely in Sao Paulo, Brazil in the summer.I'm sure Sonnen will have plenty to say in the leadup to that proposed bout.
Bisping might have lost, but it was one of the best performances of his career and he proved that he's a legitimate top-tier middleweight. The loss was another setback on his path to a title shot, but he will definitely be staying on the top of cards and competing against top guys. He was scheduled to face Demian Maia before the big shakeup, but that bout seems like it wouldn't even be competitive now. Mark Munoz vs. Michael Bisping looks like logical booking if Munoz will be back from his injury fairly soon.
Watch it now, later or never?
Now. The bout wasn't 15 minutes of insane action or anything, but there was a lot going on and it was amazing to see Bisping do what Yushin Okami and Nate Marquardt couldn't, for two rounds at least. Plus, Chael's post-fight speech was humorous (if rehearsed).
0 recs | 41 comments
I re-watched the fight
And still have Bisping winning the 1st two. Sorry to flog a dead horse!
Fighting Munoz next seems the most likely option. Though Belcher would be a great fight, or if Dana falls out with him, Palhares.
lanky6 - January 30, 2012
What did Bisping do in these first two rounds, exactly?
Shnak - January 30, 2012
A little more than Sonnen.
I felt Bisping dictated where the fight went, and as damage from either fighter was minimal (with Bisping edging what little there was) in those rounds he should have gotten the nod.
Sonnen did have a takedown in the 1st, but Bisping didn’t take any damage and escaped to his feet reasonably quickly.
lanky6 - January 30, 2012
How did Bisping dictated where the fight went when he was being taken down twice in each of the first two rounds? On the feet, Sonnen was the one in the middle of the octogon pressing forward, and when against he cage, they played a game of exchanging their turn where each pressed the other against the cage about equally.
You can’t honestly say that Bisping dictated where the fight went. That’s just beyond ridiculous. You can say Bisping outstruck Sonnen, sure there’s an argument to be made there, but you just can’t say Bisping showed more Octogon control than Sonnen.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
You forget the point scoring system
1. Effective strikes, kicks, takedowns, grappling.
2. Holding someone against the cage.
3. Extra points for impressing everyone on the web by losing a fight but not getting crushed in so losing.
Sonnen “won” because of #1. But, Bisping actually won because he was much better at 2 and 3. And if you add: 2+3=5. And 5 is more than 1. So Bisping won.
Ironbuddha - January 30, 2012
That pretty much sums it up.
paythefighters - January 30, 2012
Great post. I entirely agree. Oh, and you forgot 4 which is “I hate Bisping less than Sonnen, so of course he won”.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
i had bisping winning rounds 1 and 2 (and the fight), as well.
thuggis - January 30, 2012
In retrospect
I think Bisping will regret holding Sonnen against the cage for so long, when they separated he seemed to land more in the exchanges. I think he just felt a little overwhelmed by Sonnen constantly swarming him when there was any distance between them hence the grappling against the fence. If he’d backed off more at the fence and let shots go from range he’d have won the fight.
taptomyarmbar - January 30, 2012
I think if he wasn’t holding him against the fence he would have been put on his back a lot more. It’s no secret that if you give him the chance, Chael’s going to try to put down relentlessly.
Not Hauser - January 30, 2012 via mobile
Bisping barely landed more on the feet
He was whiffing a lot. Fightmetric gives Bisping 1 or 2 more strikes landed from striking distance per round, and that’s how I saw it, too.
I understand that some people don’t like how much takedowns count, but to say they count less than a punch or two that have no visible impact is crazy.
paythefighters - January 30, 2012
Holding him against the cage...
Was a good idea IMO. He should’ve tried a little dirty boxing in the clinch though, he showed himself to be significantly stronger than Sonnen against the cage, so should’ve thrown a few more elbows and other strikes in the clinch.
ZediiZ - January 30, 2012
I don't know
if its even possible to increase your punching power, but the division is lucky that Bisping doesnt has pillowfists.
vivero - January 30, 2012
fuck, what the hell was that.
the division is lucky that Bisping doesnt have firepower on his hands
vivero - January 30, 2012
I think he has power when he sits down on his shots, just he is constantly moving in and out and circling and doesn’t have his feet set for power the majority of the time. Chael said he hurt him.
taptomyarmbar - January 30, 2012
Good takedown defense, great at getting back to his feet, decent ground and pound, good stand up and very good defensive jits. If Bisping only had KO power or atleast decent power that will stagger his opponents when hit clean – he will be a serious threat. His opponents take his offense lighty because they know they can inflict their offense without worrying about damage.
vivero - January 30, 2012
BIsping can KO people
from what it seems he doesnt have that killer instinct, Chael said he was rocked badly in the first, some other fighters such as shogun would have capitalized on that momentum, I guess its not something you can learn.
elmojo - January 30, 2012
I disagree that Bisping lacks "killer instinct"
At least, generally speaking. He went after Jorge Rivera and beat him like he owed him money, both before and after the, ahem, “accidental” knee. I think in this particular fight Bisping knew there was a title shot on the line and he was wary of being taken down, so thought that smothering Sonnen would largely negate that. The only other times I can think of off the top of my head where Bisping lacks killer instinct is when he’s fighting a guy whose KO power is a very present threat – which is why he lost so badly to Henderson, why he was reluctant to engage Wanderlei and why he was happy to bust up Leben’s face with jabs for 15 minutes.
That said, I thought his defensive wrestling was excellent and that guy is an absolute wizard from his back – the Kang fight really showcased his incredible defensive game off his back. Not once did he look uncomfortable or panicked.
Contrast and compare with Phil Davis who had an absolutely comical look of terror on his face whenever Rashad was in top position.
ihateemo - January 30, 2012
Sonnen is exactly what the sport needs. He was funnier when he wasnt tryin so hard but if he keeps this up he could end up bringing as much fans to the sport as Brock. He is a born entertainer.
peet cassidy - January 30, 2012 via mobile
Not necessarily a judging problem, but a scoring system problem
Since not all 10-9’s are created equally. Realistically, Sonnen’s 3rd round was worth a 10-9 much more than any round Bisping took beforehand. Round 3 was NOT a 10-8, but 10-10 rounds really ought to be handed out more.
KJ Gould - January 30, 2012
I'm not a huge fan of the 10 point must system to begin with
but that especially drives me nuts. Why have ten points if you’re only going to use 2 or (rarely) 3 of them? It would at least make a little more sense to say perfectly even round is 10-10, a close round is 10-9, a clearly won round is 10-7 and a one-sided beat-down is 10-5, with 10-8 and 10-6 for the degrees in between. That would give judges a little more latitude in scoring fights like that without changing the whole system.
Damnatio Memoriae - January 30, 2012
Good point. I’ve always wondered why the judges can’t just look at the fight as a whole and judge that. Over these 15 minutes, who displayed the most control, struck the most effectively, etc, etc.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
I guess because it lacks...transparency?
I suppose in a sense I’d like to see Fightmetric stats available after the end of each round and more consideration given to the entire grappling aspect instead of just using a takedown to “steal” a round. How much of the grappling does it cover? Just dominant positions or time on the ground as well? I haven’t looked at it enough.
I used to be a big proponent of the 10-point must system, but there have been too many fights where a 30-27 or even a 29-28 (for either Bisping OR Sonnen) isn’t a good picture of just how close the fight was. The more I think about it, the more the system of just declaring a winner based on overall performance seems pertinent to MMA – and it may have the added bonus of fighters fighting to win at all times rather than gaming the system with Hail Mary takedowns and attempting to hold positional dominance in the closing seconds. It might even have the added bonus of crediting guys who attack from the bottom when the guy in guard is just wrestlefucking.
ihateemo - January 30, 2012
The truth is that 3, or even 5, rounds is not enough to use a 10-9 or 10-8 system… as KJ is saying, no two 10-9 rounds are alike, and shouldn’t be considered equal.
If judges used the 10-point must sytem properly, we wouldn’t have this problem. Why not award 10-0 rounds when one guy does absolute nothing? Let’s say round one was a tie round of 10-10, round two was a Bisping 10-9 round and round three was a Sonnen 10-7 round. Add it all up, and see who wins. Those scores are a lot more representative of what happened than using 10-9 scores for all of them.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
I like that idea
10 is a must, but the 9 certainly isn’t.
ihateemo - January 30, 2012
Exactly
People say that a finer degree of judging isn’t going to help when judges are bad, but that’s BS. Even a bad judge will make less of an error in a close round.
I really wish this whole 10-9 crap never got ingrained in MMA. They should have just kept it simple: give each fighter a score of 0-5 each round based on offensive output. In a clearly won round, the winning figher will have 2-3 points more than his opponent, and in a dominating one it’ll be 4-5. Even with tied rounds, we’d see a difference between a 0-0 snoozefest and 4-4 non-stop action. I guess MMA was just too insecure to avoid riding on boxing’s coattails…
paythefighters - January 30, 2012
Alright. If we use the full scale of the point system, if someone says Sonnen won the first round 10-9, and gave Bisping a 10-8 in the 2nd round, they’d have no choice but to agree that Sonnen won the 3rd round by a much bigger margin, like 10-6 or 10-5, no? Bisping did absolutely nothing in that 3rd round.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
Not many people are talking about Sonnen’s conditionning. What the heck was going on? He seemed spent after one round. We heard Rogan talk about how tough a cut Sonnen had, which would explain it… but still, very disappointing. And before anyone tries to be witty and say he’s not on ’roids anymore, Sonnen had plenty of energy against Stann and never tired out despite a lot more grappling going on.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
i imagine it was easier because stann went down and stayed down
bisping stuffed tds and kept getting up, and chael had to strike with him a lot more
Cunny - January 30, 2012
True. But still, Sonnen looked spent very early on. I hope his weight cut goes better for his rematch with Silva, or else it won’t be much of a fight, I’m afraid… :-/
Shnak - January 30, 2012
I thought it was strange...
that Sonnen seeemed much fresher in rd 3 than round rd 2.
Also strange that the supposedly superbly conditioned Bisping seemed dead on his feet at the end of round 2.
skeebop - January 30, 2012
Sonnen definitely got a boost of energy in time for the 3rd round, but he looked deflated early in the first and in the second. It was just odd.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
I'll agree with that,
but to me that points to something other than conditioning. It looked more like someone who wasn’t very sharp mentally, going through the motions rather fighting with the purpose of imposing his will. Maybe he was just having an off day, or didn’t prepare as well as he usually does.
paythefighters - January 30, 2012
Well, to be fair to both fighters, Sonnen was supposed to fight a guy who’s only strong suit is his ground and pound in Munoz, which is close to the opposite of Bisping, really. And Bisping was supposed to fight a BJJ stud that forgot all about it and thinks is a striker, when that’s basically the opposite of Sonnen. It really was a tough switch for both of these guys. I’d be really interested in seeing a Sonnen/Bisping rematch in like a year to see if they do any better with proper training.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
Palhares makes sense
Considering that Dana doesn’t seem to regard it as a loss, give him a guy who’s just won a fight and is nearing contention. Munoz would probably fight the same as Sonnen, and I’m honestly not interested in seeing that fight.
CaptainArmbar - January 30, 2012
plus you know… bisping > hamill > munoz
wait for it………
hewsdaddy - January 30, 2012
I think Belfort-Bisping is the best choice
It works for so many reasons:
1) Both just fought, so they’re on similar schedules. It could be in Brazil alongside Sonnen-Silva II.
2) If Belfort wins, he’s clearly the most dangerous and skilled MW after Silva/Sonnen, and it’s probably the last great MW fight left for Silva (assuming he beats Sonnen).
3) If Bisping wins, he’d be 5-1 in his last 6 fights, with the one loss a close one against a guy that just had his second crack at Silva. It would clearly be his turn next.
paythefighters - January 30, 2012
I wholly endorse this statement.
NickRingp4pGOAT - January 30, 2012
Well, Belfort has to get rid of Wanderlai first… I doubt Bisping will want to wait 8-10 months for his fight.
Shnak - January 30, 2012
I’ll concede that the fight was close. Sonnen looked pretty bad. Bisping has great takedown defense. Plus, his cut went really well. But here’s Tim Burke’s recap of the second round, which everyone seems to be giving to Bisping:
“The second round opened with both fighters trading punches before Chael Sonnen attempted a takedown. Bisping defended well and clinched Sonnen against the fence. The two fighters traded punches from the clinch before John McCarthy split the fighters. Sonnen completed a power double against the cage and there was some blood trickling down the face of Michael Bisping. Huge punch from Chael Sonnen and then a knee on the break. Bisping clinched with Sonnen against the cage but he was unable to do any damage from the position. Bisping attempted a single leg but was unsuccessful. With thirty seconds left in the round Michael Bisping attempted a hook kick but it didn’t land.”
That doesn’t really sound like Bisping winning the round to me. Yes, I’ve watched the fight multiple times.
Olympia - January 30, 2012
I’ve rewatched the fight yesterday and I have it 29-28 Sonnen. While the first two rounds were close, I have Sonnen winning the first, Bisping the 2nd, and Sonnen the 3rd. I would not have been disgusted by a 29-28 score for Bisping, but there’s no doubt in my mind that Sonnen won that first round. He landed that big overhand right on Bisping, generally outstruck him, was always moving forward and took him down twice. All Bisping did was be on the defensive working his way back to his feet, and reversed Sonnen a couple of times against the cage. Big deal. Sonne won that round.
Shnak - February 1, 2012
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