Chael Sonnen vs. Mark Munoz confirmed for UFC on Fox 2
Posted on December 4, 2011, 01:54 PM by Joey Santosus
A number-one contender bout between top Middleweights Chael Sonnen and Mark Munoz will serve as co-main event for the UFC on Fox 2 card in January.
UFC officials have now confirmed the match-up.
Sonnen (26-11-1) has pushed for a another shot at division Champion Anderson Silva since failing to dethrone the Brazilian back at UFC 117. Due to the close nature of the bout, which saw the Team Quest fighter dominate the champ for much of their encounter, an immediate rematch was reportedly in the works. However, a failed PED screening and subsequent legal troubles left Sonnen sidelined for more than a year.
Upon his return, Sonnen reignighted his campaign for a rematch following a second-round submission victory over Brian Stann at UFC 136, where he demanded the two meet on Super Bowl weekend with "loser leaves town" terms. Currently nursing a shoulder injury, however, Silva is expected to remain inactive until 2012. With no clear return date, Sonnen has indicated that he'd prefer to remain active rather than wait around on the champ.
Munoz (12-2) has steadily staked his own claim to a title shot, most recently scoring a second-round TKO victory over Chris Leben at UFC 138 to extend his current winning streak to four. After debuting with the promotion at Light Heavyweight, Munoz made the cut to 185 following his first career defeat, and has since posted an overall record of 7-1 under the UFC banner, including wins over the aforementioned Leben, Demian Maia, C.B. Dollaway, and Aaron Simpson. Munoz recently went on record insisting that he was more deserving of a crack at Silva's belt than Sonnen, and he'll now get his chance to prove it.
UFC on Fox 2 is set to take place January 28th from the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Top Light Heavyweight contenders Rashad Evans and Phil Davis will go head to head in the headlining bout, while Sonnen vs. Munoz will serve as co-main event. UFC President Dana White has also alluded to a third "headliner," but has not yet revealed the match-up.
Further Reading: Mark Munoz talks about the potential fight with "The Master of Marketing" Chael Sonnen
Photo: Francis Specker
Comments
Too bad, Silva vs Sonnen is better.. But this will do :)
If Sonnen wins you can bet that Silva/Sonnen 2 will happen
good warm up for chael. keep him in shape and get some more momentum behind him
yeah this should be a good fight for Sonnen to keep in shape
i feel bad for Munoz but i guess your not the real No.1 contender
if someone else can beat you in your division.
Sonnen should take this one with no problem since Munoz could not outwrestle Okami , and we all remember how Sonnen manhandle Okami.
Munoz lost against hamil 1rnd tko, and he lost by split decision vs okami, munoz got crazy power and heavy ground and pound.
Munoz needs a finish vs sonnen otherwise, sonnen will win, i'm expecting to see munoz on his back getting tired and losing power.
Munoz won vs maia and simpson on decision, i don't see that happening vs sonnen.
I hope we stiil get to see munoz and sonnen vs silva !
Both impressive fighters and better than most of silva's opponents !
Imo Munoz has better wrestling than Sonnen and has more power in his hands so it will be a tough fight for Sonnen...Idk how Sonnen can win this fight if he cant take Munoz down so Im gonna go with the upset n take Munoz
WTF are you talking about Munoz having better wrestling. He couldnt take Okami down for the life of him. Sonnen took Okami down with ease.
Thats like saying Bisping has better stand up than Silva....
I suggest you reevaluate your knowledge of MMA.....asap
*I hope you were drunk when you made that comment....*
No need to get so buthurt daddylongstrokes just my opinion, Munoz has better wrestling credentials and has beaten Sonnen in straight wrestling matches so thats good enough imo to say that Munoz has bettter wrestling skills than Sonnen, n I dont see how Sonnen can win this fight if he cant take Munoz down in fact Sonnen cant really win any fight if he cant take his opponent down so Im leaning towards Munoz
@DaddyLongStrokes, There is a lot more to wrestling than getting take downs and defending them. I think there is an argument for Munoz being the more effective wrestler after that. He is certainly a better striker and has much better gnp than Sonnen. I am with Ninja on this one. I think Munoz will hurt Chael bad.
Most important things about wrestling in MMA is takedowns and defending them..... Ask anybody that isnt completely biased and they would tell you the same thing. Sonnen's MMA wrestling is beyond Munoz's. Which sounds about right, Sonnen has been doing this far longer and has had time to hone his craft.
Munoz throws looping winging punches. He doesnt really throw many combinations. He leaves a lot of openings, while Sonnen throws combinations, and sets his takedowns up.
Munoz does have better GnP I will agree with that.
Chael has a chin, and anything can happen in MMA. But Sonnen has this with stand up that will effectively set up the takedown. He wont do it at will, but when Sonnen wants someone down, they go down lol
okami could so i dont see why uncle cheal couldnt take munoz down
That was a long time ago and you could easily argue that they have both changed and grown. I think in this setting Sonnen wins.
Im not butthurt Ninja, just baffled that someone could say something so....wrong... and be serious about it.
How does Munoz have better wrestling credentials. Sonnen was an olympic alternate. That surpasses college wrestling anyday.
And you are just looking at wrestling alone. This is MMA, in case you forgot. Sonnen's MMA wrestling is leagues ahead of Munoz. Munoz rarely has set up, and his timing for his takedowns are sloppy.
Last time they wrestled was in college, about a decade ago.....things have changed.
The only thing you can really say is that Munoz has more power in his hands. Thats about it.
I suggest you look up some facts and tape on both fighters
Olympic alternate doesn't surpass college wins. They are both equally awesome in their own right. There are plenty of guys who become olympic alternates that would much rather of had the career a guy like Greg Jones or Kevin Randleman had. Besides being an olympic alternate isn't really a credential.
Now after getting passed all that, Chael wins this fight nene or ten times out of ten. His MMA wrestling far exceeds Munoz, as the only guys who are really on par with Chael when it comes to that skill are GSP, Jon Jones and possibly Dominick Cruz. Besides that Chael has every other advantage skill and attribute wise besides natural power (striking). His striking and BJJ are both better, and he probably has the advantage in the power department in terms of grappling. I also think that although Munoz holds the advantage in the power in terms of gnp, Chaels is much more diverse and he throws many more punches.
All in all, I see another dominant performance for a guy that will be in the top 10 of my PFP list after the fight is over. He's too good for Munoz, and Mark has no submission game off his back (or just hasn't shown it yet).
maybe better wrestling in college but for MMA Chael is top 3 in any weight class. Sonnen also has more technical stand up and better gas tank
@Griffin, Ya I can definitely see the case being made for Sonnen having better wrestling but I just believe Munoz has the edge over Sonnen there but this fight is hard to call, there is no way I would be putting any money on either fighter and I do agree Sonnen seems to have better technical striking but he never really stand and fights with ppl, he uses that to close the distance n take ppl down while Munoz stands up with fighters hurts them and drops them so if the fight stays standing again I would go with Munoz
on these i agree 100% with you. if munoz stuffs sonnens takedowns sonnen could get in trouble... munoz isnt great standing up but he has a ton of power
I think the issue in this fight is whether Munoz's stellar wrestling is good enough to counter Sonnens wrestling and we've all seen how good Chael is. Munoz actually teaches a lot of guys wrestling and on paper he's the guy to put in against Sonnen. I actually think though that Chael will still beat Munoz by being more aggressive and going for the takedown first, if you watch Munoz in his fights he's not very often the aggressor, he's usually moving backwards and often goes for the takedown to avoid strikes. Chael is always moving forward and his striking is better too and i also think he has the better cardio. I really do think his style and the pace he sets will be too much for Munoz. I'm not under-estimating Munoz, he's a great wrestler and he has good power but i just think he's some way behind Chael at the moment as far as MMA goes. Definately going to be an interesting fight to watch though........
I agree. Munoz may have more power but Sonnen has better stand up. Munoz often wings his punches and is very sloppy with his technqiue. Expect Sonnen to throw some jabs and kicks and create an opening for a takedown. Sonnen has an established wrestling game for MMA, while Munoz hasnt quite pieced it together. Munoz has a puncher's chance but he kinda wilts as the rounds go by.
Sonnen via Decision or 3rd round finish
for me sonnen is 100% q better fighter but who knows... it could be a tough matchup for him. if sonnen loses the UFC is going to lose a lot of money without that rematch. lets wait and see what happens
Sonnen might have prettier striking but Munoz is much more effective.
GSP had prettier striking, but Kos had the lopping overhand right.
GSP controlled the stand up, as we all saw. But hey, one of those looping punches may land. But crisper technique is always more effective.
what does it mean for Chael if he loses to Munoz ?
He will not leave the UFC forever. I think?
@highlife
that would mean he would fight Bisping insted of silva
Sonnen more technical and faster and he'll pulls off this match.imo
I'm a big Sonnen fan and have him to win and his next bout as well but lets not forget that Munoz could finish this with one punch
hope munoz kicks sonnens ass, munoz shows confidence and skill he has a strong will, so does chaell(how could you not when youre taking roids) hope chaell never wins the title he is a CHEAT, Munoz is LEGIT
I wonder who Anderson wants to win??? hmmmmm
@ninja why u sayin that sonnen cant win a fight if he cant take a guy down do u not remember him dropping silva?