It was only a matter of time before the trash talk got ugly.
Strongly opinionated middleweights Chael Sonnen and Michael Bisping will square off on Sat., Jan. 28, 2012 at UFC on FOX 2 at the United Center in Chicago, Ill., to see who will earn the right to be the next to fight current 185-pound champion Anderson Silva for his world title.
Both Sonnen and Bisping are not exactly known for being mild-mannered, but surprisingly, the talk has been fairly tame in the build-up.
In fact, just days ago, Sonnen went on ESPN Radio and made the following comments about his upcoming opponent:
"You know, I think Bisping does a lot of stuff really well. The biggest problem he's got is that he just drew the ‘Ace of Spades.' I'm not just another fighter on the roster or a middleweight. I'm the middleweight champion; undefeated and undisputed. I can beat any man God ever made. Michael Bisping does not survive."
Tonight (Jan. 23, 2012), Bisping was a guest on HDNet's "Inside MMA." Here was his response to Sonnen's brash overtures:
"Okay. One. Let's start with the obvious. He's not the middleweight champion. He's been beaten many, many times. He's been submitted more times than I care to mention. Not to mention, the last time he lost a fight by submission, there were some issues involving performance enhancing drugs. I don't know what the deal is. Apparently, he has one testicle. One testicle! This is why he uses performance enhancing drugs. He's gonna need more than one little ball to fight me next weekend!"
Oh no, he didn't! For more on Sonnen and his suspension for using illegal Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs), for what he described was required for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), click here.
After dealing Sonnen somewhat of a "low blow," Bisping went on to give a synopsis of how he feels their co main event fight will go down:
"He's gonna try and take me down, lay on top of me and smother me to death. Me, on the other hand, I will be arriving to fight this guy. I'm gonna look to knock him out. Of course. I call my fights. It's not gonna be easy. He's a tough opponent. I'm sure it's gonna be an amazing fight. All joking aside, it's gonna be a tough fight."
Stylistically, the match up changed a good deal when "The Count" filled in as a last second replacement for the injured Mark Munoz. The fight was originally slated to showcase a battle between two dominant wrestlers.
Bisping is aware of the wrestling skills that Sonnen possesses and that he is at a distinct disadvantage in that department. However, he's not concerned, because of what he believes is a great ability to get out of bad positions.
His reasoning:
"He's gonna try and take me down, lay on top of me and smother me to death. Me, on the other hand, I will be arriving to fight this guy. I'm gonna look to knock him out. Of course. I call my fights. It's not gonna be easy. He's a tough opponent. I'm sure it's gonna be an amazing fight. All joking aside, it's gonna be a tough fight."
In his closing comments, Bisping acknowledged the gravity of his fight against Sonnen and that he's grateful for the opportunity:
"It's gonna be a tough fight, but I'm ready. I've trained very, very hard. I'm looking forward to the challenge and it's a massive opportunity as well."
Was Bisping out of line with his comments or is it just part of the promotional apparatus? Which one of these big mouthed middleweights are you picking to win at UFC on FOX 2 on Saturday night?
Sound off!