After this weekends actions by UFC middleweight Michael “The Count” Bisping towards opponent Jorge Rivera and his corner, UFC President Dana White has confirmed that disciplinary action will be taken against the British fighter.
MMAFighting.com and FightersOnlyMagazine.co.uk have both confirmed with White over the situation, noting that no decision has been made as to whether Bisping will receive a fine and/or suspension.
Leading up to their UFC 127 co-main event bout in Sydney, Australia, Rivera and his camp had been waging a video campaign of trash talk aimed at Bisping. In one of the videos Rivera made comments about ‘koala’s’ carrying STD’s, which he may have not known is Australian slang for women. Bisping’s partner is Australian and he took as a cheap shot at his wife.
Once both men entered the octagon, it was Bisping who would win their confrontation in the cage. The Brit would win a second-round TKO over Rivera. It was Bisping’s actions after the victory that has gotten him in trouble.
Shortly after the win Bisping went over to Rivera and his corner to continue issuing verbal insults, and then spit in their direction.
Bisping apologized for his actions during his post fight interview and when asked later about the spitting incident he stated “I was spitting on the floor to let them know what I thought of them.”
With the sport of mixed martial arts still in it’s youth, properly regulating the sport can be difficult, so it will be interesting to see how the UFC deals with the problem instead of a regulatory body.