Injuries Create Interesting Fights at UFC on Fox 2

By Raphael Garcia

The injury bug has unexpectedly created some interesting matchups in the UFC’s middleweight division. Mark Munoz has suffered an injury to his arm that forced him out of his matchup against Chael Sonnen at UFC on Fox 2. With Munoz stepping away, the “hole” has been filled in a way that gives fans two new fights to look forward to. Sonnen will now face off against Michael Bisping in a number one contender’s fight. Bisping was due to face Demian Maia at the same event, but Maia will now be matched against the undefeated Chris Weidman.

Sonnen is well known for his bout against current middleweight champion, Anderson Silva, in which he pushed “the Spider” to the limit in a fashion we have never seen. Even though he was unable to pull out the victory that evening, he has continued to claim to be the best in the division. At UFC 136 he walked over Brian Stann to prove his point, but was unable to draw Silva into a fight, as he is currently on the shelf due to an injury.

Bisping has also been surging as of late. Coming off of his one-sided defeat of Jason Miller at the Ultimate Fighter 14 Finale, Bisping believed he was extremely close to a title shot. Now he is one victory away from being the next in line.

Sonnen should go into this contest as the favorite. Not only do many fans either love him or love to hate him, but Sonnen has proven to have the abilities to back up his statements. Since moving down to 185, Stann had looked very promising, until Sonnen gave him the “big brother” treatment, and muscled him around the Octagon before finishing him by submission. Bisping will enter this bout as the fighter with the better striking, but he will have a hard time keeping himself in an upright position against Sonnen’s takedowns. I expect to see Sonnen placing the Englishman on his back at will throughout the fight, while working towards a unanimous decision victory.

With the addition of Weidman, the second middleweight fight on the card holds major implications as well. Since losing to Anderson Silva back in 2010, Maia has steadily improved his striking to a point where he has surprised opponents and onlookers alike. The best example is his UFC 131 fight against Munoz, a losing effort that many people believed he had won. Maia has consistently hung around top ten rankings, but hasn’t strung together the wins to place him back at the top of the heap. A fight against Weidman isn’t a tough battle in any way, but is certainly a potential momentum builder.

New York native Chris Weidman put himself in the spotlight when he stepped in on short notice to fight Alessio Sakara back at UFC Live on Versus 3. Since that time he has defeated both Jesse Bongfeldt and Tom Lawlor by submission; in the latter fight he looked extremely impressive in choking his opponent unconscious early in the bout. At 7-0 his professional career is still young, but the 27-year-old has shown the flashes of ability that suggest he can potentially hang with the upper echelon of the division. This is the kind of test that is needed to see where he stands.

Maia should be the favorite going into this fight, but Weidman will not be an easy matchup in any way. Both fighters have Brazilian Jiu Jitsu backgrounds and are very knowledgeable in that base; however many pundits consider Maia to possess the best BJJ abilities in mixed martial arts, next to Roger Gracie. While I do not believe he will be able to submit Weidman, I see him being able to control him through positioning much the way he did against Jorge Santiago and Mario Miranda. On the feet, Maia’s growth has been exciting to watch, and I believe he will be able to effectively use his striking to set up his takedowns. I’m not completely counting Weidman out of this bout, but I do believe it will be a stern test for him to pass, and a defeat will not completely crush his increasing stock.

UFC on Fox 2 was thrown for a loop because of one injured arm, but thanks to a little re-shuffling, we now have two fights that have the potential to be even more appealing than the original fights.