Dana White Hands Out Punishment To Bisping
Posted by Trevor Robillard (Contributor)Mar 16
As many of you know by now Michael Bisping defeated Jorge Rivera at UFC127 in one of the most controversial bouts we have seen in many years. In the first round of the fight that took place on February 26, 2011 Australia, “The Count” landed an illegal knee to a grounded Rivera and at the end of the fight spat on Rivera’s corner man and taunted his downed opponent. For the last 2 weeks MMA fans across the globe have been calling for recourse against Bisping and finally we have our answer. Dana White has released today that Bisping’s win bonus money is to be withheld from him as punishment for his actions.
In an interview with MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani White explained that he has held back the win bonus money but has no intention of suspending Bisping. “I talked to Mike. Listen I like Michael Bisping, I’ve known him for a long time. I did season three of “The Ultimate Fighter”. When you meet the guy- is Mike Bisping cocky? Yes he is. He’s a f**king professional fighter! What he did was-at the end of the day I’m not the athletic commission, the athletic commission are the ones impose fines and all these other things. What I did to Michael Bisping- not a lot of people really know, but the fighters who fight for me know exactly what I’m saying when I say this: Mike Bisping did not get a bonus check. He was not bonused for his fight and believe me that hurts worse then anything else that anybody else could have done”
Bisping continues to state that the illegal knee was unintentional and that he did not spit at Rivera’s corner man but white has said several times that he believes that both the illegal knee and the spitting were completely intentional. “He didn’t even go there with me because I disagree on both of those,” said White. “I think that the knee was intentional and he absolutely meant to spit on that guy. I have never accidentally spit on anyone, ever. Have you?
Many fans believe that Jorge Rivera should get another crack at Michael Bisping but Dana White sees things differently. “I don’t know about that” White said of a potential rematch. “The only controversy I see in the thing is the way Michael Bisping carried himself and how he handled himself in the fight”
Chael Sonnen has made it a point via twitter to call out Bisping, but will we see this fight anytime soon with Sonnen’s impending court hearing. According to White a “Bad Guy vs. Bad Guy” fight doesn’t play out to him, but hey, you never know.
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