UFC
UFC 127 RESULTS: Michael Bisping's illegal knee, post-fight antics overshadow TKO win over Jorge Rivera
Feb 27, 2011 - 11:25:11 AM UFC 127 RESULTS: Michael Bisping's illegal knee, post-fight antics overshadow TKO win over Jorge Rivera

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

If Jorge Rivera felt Michael Bisping was a "dick" prior to UFC 127, well, his opinion probably isn't any different this morning.

The Brit handily defeated Rivera on Saturday in Australia, but an illegal blow delivered in the first round, as well as Bisping's post-fight reaction, certainly didn't endear him to the many fans who already didn't like him.

Bisping and Rivera both came out looking to strike, with Bisping getting the better of the exchanges through the first several minutes. But Bisping also looked to bring the fight to the ground, taking Rivera down a number of times as well. After standing following one of the takedowns, however, Bisping pulled the trigger on a knee to the forehead of Rivera while Rivera was on both knees.

The blatantly illegal strike nearly saw the fight end right there in what would have been a disqualification win for Rivera, but Rivera powered through and continued fighting, and the blow cost Bisping a point. Bisping was too much for him by the second round, however, and the fight was stopped after a brutal series of punches against the cage to which Rivera could only cover up.

But after the ref stopped the fight, Bisping went over to the cage and spit at Rivera's cornerman, got into Rivera's face demanding an apology for their series of videos mocking him leading into the fight, and then told Rivera to "go home, loser."

A subsequent in-cage reprimand by UFC President Dana White got Bisping to apologize during his post-fight interview, and he continued the apologies at the post fight press conference, but the damage was done regardless.

Rivera's management at Alchemist MMA responded to Bisping's actions in comments made to Luke Thomas at SBNation.com.

"The knee was illegal and flush on the face," they said. "But instead of taking a dive and possibly the win, Jorge fought on. Bisping tagged Jorge while BOTH of his knees were on the canvas. He wasn't the same afterward but fought on anyway. How many fighters would be able to fight on after that?

The stoppage was quick, but we won't fight it. He won. That's all there is to it. But for all his talk of being a professional, Bisping spit on Rivera's coaches when the fight was over. How can you claim to be a professional after that?"

Penick's Analysis: It's refreshing in some ways to see a fight billed as a "grudge match" not end in the two fighters hugging it out, but Bisping was such an unlikeable guy throughout this weekend. Now, Rivera's no saint in this situation, as his pre-fight mocking and video antics don't put him into a good guy role, but where he attempted to rile Bisping up and get some attention on the fight, Bisping resorted to a blatantly illegal move and ridiculously unprofessional post-fight behavior in spitting on Rivera's corner. Add to him calling Rivera a "fa**ot motherf***er" at the weigh-ins, and Bisping was all kinds of bad guy this weekend. But the UFC needs bad guys sometimes, and that's a role he's going to have to play in the future after this performance. He's a very good fighter, he was the better fighter on Saturday night, but he certainly embodied the term "dick" in Australia.