Evans: Bisping Hard to Hold Down

---

Michael Bisping faces a stern test on Saturday, as he attempts to thwart the wrestling of former University of Oregon All-American Chael Sonnen in a co-featured bout on the UFC on Fox 2 card in Chicago.

Rashad Evans, who takes on Phil Davis in the main event, is quite familiar with Bisping’s vaunted defensive ability.

In his final light heavyweight bout before making a permanent move to 185 pounds, Bisping dropped a split decision to Evans at UFC 78. Although the Imperial Athletics representative managed to take down Bisping a total of six times over three rounds, he came away with a newfound respect for his opponent’s ground skills. The former light heavyweight champion was not ready to acknowledge an edge for either Bisping or Sonnen in their upcoming fight, however.

“I thought Bisping was pretty good with his wrestling in our fight,” Evans said during a recent UFC conference call. “He was very squirmy and hard to hold down, but Chael's a different wrestler than I am altogether. Mike is a hard person to keep down and try to hold down, and he’s been improving on his wrestling every fight, but Chael is good at what he does. It’s hard to say really who has the advantage.”