Mark Munoz was set to challenge to become the No. 1 contender in the UFC's middleweight division when an elbow problem knocked him out of a fight with Chael Sonnen. In his place stepped Michael Bisping, who Sonnen defeated to earn a shot at UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

As Munoz continues to work his way back to the Octagon, he was a little shocked to see the UFC pair Bisping up with Tim Boetsch, as he expected a match with "The Count" might have been in his immediate future.

"It was surprising to me," said Munoz, in a recent interview with ESPN.com. "I thought we were on a collision course. I know there are a lot of people in the general public that wanted us to fight. I would have loved to fight Bisping just because he's a bigger name and I match up well with him."

Munoz (12-2) says he will be ready to return in July, and added, "I'll take a fight in July. I'll be ready by then for sure." He had 24 bone fragments removed him his elbow in January.

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