• UFC 127

Bisping apologises, calls on Rivera to do likewise

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Michael Bisping has offered a full and frank apology for his actions at UFC 127, and has now asked Jorge Rivera to follow suit.

Speaking to Gareth A Davies on the ESPN UFC Podcast, Bisping reflected on the regrettable events of UFC 127, when he delivered an illegal knee to the head of Rivera and then allegedly spat in the direction of coach Matt Phinney.

Bisping is keen for critics, fans and the UFC alike to know that he does not stand by his actions in Sydney - offering a full apology, not for the first time - but he has called on Rivera to do the same following the American's extremely personal insinuations regarding Bisping's family.

"It was out of order, and if anyone went to those lengths again, I would simply not rise to it," said Bisping of his own actions in February. "I'm ashamed of myself and I have apologised, he [Rivera] should be man enough to do the same.

"I was out of order. As a father, as a mixed martial artist, or possibly even as a role model, it's not a way I should be behaving. It's not how a mixed martial artist should be acting; not how anybody should be acting. Of course, I do regret it, and I owe Dana [White, UFC CEO], and the UFC an apology and I won't be acting like that again.

"The UFC has always been very good to me - Dana and Lorenzo [Fertitta] and the UFC have made a huge difference to my life - and after nearly every fight they have gone above and beyond the call of duty and given me a very, very generous bonus. And that didn't happen this time. There is no telling what the amount may have been. I wouldn't like to say what they have been in the past, but they have been very generous.

"This time, I never received anything. Rightly so, I was out of order. And the UFC had to do something."

Bisping did want to make clear one thing, insisting that he did not spit at Phinney. His actions, as he has always maintained and never denied, were meant as a gesture, never an attack.

"I went into the fight very angry. I let it get the better of me after the fight. I want to make it clear - I never spat on his cornerman. I spat on the floor to let him know what I thought of him…I said some words…I'm not even sure what the words were now, that was immediately after the fight had finished. After that, I instantly apologised. It was out of order."

Chael Sonnen, the unofficial king of trash talk, is rumoured to be Bisping's next opponent, but the Briton insists there is a difference between humorous trash talk like Sonnen's and outright abuse like Rivera's.

"If it is to be Chael Sonnen, he does trash talk a lot. But a lot of things that come out of his mouth I p*** myself laughing; I think he's hilarious. He comes out with good smack talk. If it was to be him next, I'd look forward to the verbal sparring, but I'm sure he wouldn't go to the depths of offence that this guy [Rivera] did.

"People can talk smack about me all they like, they have in the past, you only have to look at any one of a number of websites out there…I have no problem with that. What this guy was doing was that he was insinuating my partner had a sexually transmitted diseases, talking crap about my country, crap about my family, insinuating I was not even English, chanting a song that I was a d-- d-- d--, it just went over the top really and I shouldn't have let it get to me. But it did.

"I'm not perfect, I still make mistakes, I'm human and I let things get the better of me as I did on night. Of course, lesson learnt. If he tries to go down that line, I've got previous experience and I will not let it get to me quite as much."

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