• UFC 127

'By the way Jorge, this is a press conference' - Bisping

To guarantee your front-row seat for UFC 127 on February 26, subscription details can be found here.

Michael Bisping put Jorge Rivera firmly in his place at Wednesday's UFC 127 press conference, mockingly informing the veteran: "This is a press conference, by the way, Jorge, welcome to the big league."

The bad blood between Bisping and Rivera ahead of their middleweight battle in Sydney has risen way past the usual verbal sparring used to promote a fight. Rivera has angered Bisping with taunts about his family and heritage, which either means he has the psychological edge on Saturday, or that he has awoken the beast.

Certainly it was Bisping who had plenty to let off his chest at the press conference, and he decided to make it clear to everybody in attendance that Rivera was only in the fight due to his ability to talk.

"For me, I've got a big fight to prepare for, and I'm trying to behave accordingly. I'm a professional fighter, not an idiot in the schoolyard, making up silly rhymes and jokes and stupid videos," said Bisping.

"This is a press conference, by the way, Jorge. I know it's your first time involved in something like this. Welcome to the big leagues. After this, you'll be back to the undercard, believe me."

The mocking continued: "I'm looking forward to correcting him on a few of his opinions. I think he's massively underestimating me, and I'm looking forward to making fool out of him. I'm going to do my talking with my fists - punches, kicks, knees, elbows, jiu-jitsu, wrestling. Half of that stuff, he doesn't know what it is.

"Jorge is a relic. He's a throwback to the beginning of mixed martial arts," said Bisping. "I'm a complete mixed martial artist, and I'll be showing him that. And I'll do most of my talking then."

By contrast, Rivera - who had said so much during his pre-fight videos aimed to anger Bisping - chose to keep his talking to a minimum.

"Some of it was for fun, and some of it was to get in his head and see how he reacts and see what's going on," said Rivera. "I'm cool with it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.