• UFC 127

Bisping almost forced to pull out of Rivera battle

Michael Bisping's last visit to Australia ended in controversial defeat to Wanderlei Silva © Getty Images

Enlarge

Related Links

• News: Rivera is 'seriously f****** deluded' - Bisping
  
• News: Bisping claims he would 'get in the face' of Anderson Silva
  
• News: Bisping backed to teach Rivera a brutal lesson
  
• News: Sakara would have been tougher than Bisping - Rivera
  
• News: Bad Boy Ebersole replaces Condit at UFC 127
  
• News: Bisping wants victory 'in the worst possible way'
  
• News: Bisping targets 'quarter-final' victory over Rivera
  
• Profile: Michael Bisping

Michael Bisping has revealed to ESPN that he almost had to withdraw from his UFC 127 showdown with Jorge Rivera due to a staph infection in his arm.

Bisping heads out to Sydney for the co-main event of UFC 127, where he will hope to take the first of what he believes will be two steps towards a middleweight title shot.

However, a staph infection causing pain and inflammation in the Briton's arm triggered disruption to the start of Bisping's fight camp, with medical assistance required to correct the problem. Bisping admits his management team - looking out for the best interests of his career - even suggested a possible postponement of the bout.

"It was something I picked up in October and then it flared up again at the start of camp," Bisping told ESPN. "The first couple of weeks it was really bothering me, and I couldn't really use my arm at one point.

"My manager did say to me, 'maybe you're gonna have to pull out of the fight', but we still had time. Fortunately the antibiotics have cleared it all up and now the arm's great.

"My manager was saying, 'you're doing great, hopefully we're on our way to a title shot, so you don't want to derail anything'. He wasn't saying, 'let's pull out', but he was saying that I should think about it.

"But we still had plenty of time and it cleared up."

Bisping is expected to enter into a stand-up war with Rivera on February 27, meaning his ability to time and land punches will be crucial. The Wolf's Lair fighter is not concerned though, revealing he merely had to alter his training camp.

"It's been clear for a couple of weeks now and it's almost perfect. It's no problem, I just had to train round it, I could still run and still hit pads etc. I could still do everything but it was just extremely painful."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.