• UFC 127

Bisping targets 'quarter-final' victory over Rivera

Michael Bisping is targeting title success in 2011 © Getty Images

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• Profile: Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping has labelled his clash with Jorge Rivera the quarter-final en route to a 2011 title showdown for the UFC middleweight crown.

Marshall Zelaznik told ESPN last week that victory over Rivera would not book Bisping a shot at the winner of Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort. Much more likely is that the Briton will head into a title eliminator, with the names of Yushin Okami, Brian Stann and Chael Sonnen all in the mix.

Bisping is aware of the situation, and he revealed he wants to put on a show at UFC 127 in order to advance to the "semi-finals".

"If I'm honest, I wasn't overly excited when Jorge Rivera was put forward as my next opponent for UFC 127 in Sydney, Australia," Bisping told the Manchester Evening News. "I didn't think he was a great opponent for me and I didn't see him as the natural progression after beating Yoshihiro Akiyama in November.

"I actually asked to fight Nate Marquardt in my next bout, but the UFC weren't interested in doing that fight, which is their decision to make and I respect that. So, after turning down Marquardt, they offered me Jorge Rivera and we went with it. The UFC were convinced it was a good style match-up and that it would produce fireworks and I'm sure that, when all is said and done, they will be right.

"They felt it had 'Fight of the Night' written all over it and, when you look at it like that, it seems like a good idea. I'm always keen to entertain the fans and put on good fights, and this match with Rivera seems like a decent tear-up on paper. It's my job to fight who the UFC tell me to, so if they feel Rivera is the best match-up for me, I'm not going to argue. They line them up and I knock them down.

"I really see this year as being the year that I could fight for the title, and I'm now all about securing that shot in 2011. I want to beat Rivera in emphatic style, follow that up with a semi-final win against a top contender and then hopefully be in position to fight for the belt after that."

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