Michael Bisping was no angel.
At his most disrespectful, Bisping told Jorge Rivera to “Go home loser!” and taunted his corner after his 2011 victory over ‘El Conquistador’ while he’s always had a penchant for getting in opponents’ faces at weigh-ins.
The newly retired Brit will go down as one of the greatest trash talkers of all time and he provided a template for younger fighters who recognised that fans were tuning in to watch ‘The Count’ whether they wanted to see him win or lose.
It’s a shtick that’s been used by several fighters to varying degrees of success over the years. While Conor McGregor managed to talk his way into a boxing debut against the legendary Floyd Mayweather, others haven’t found it quite so easy to translate smack talk into fan interest.
Colby Covington is the latest member of the UFC roster to embrace the heel role and he’s gone full WWE by refusing to let his gimmick drop even after his fights.
Covington claimed the interim UFC welterweight title on Saturday night by putting former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos on the back foot throughout the UFC 225 co-main event.
Turn sound on. Grab some popcorn. You're welcome. pic.twitter.com/8q2QxCvXxL
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) June 10, 2018
After the fight, ‘Chaos’ gave an interview to the Fox Sports studio and it was then that Bisping took him to task for his persona.
“No one’s making excuses, Colby, you fought a good fight. Why are you so defensive? Why do you have to be a prick?”
Bisping clearly got a kick out of winding Covington up, accusing him of “being controversial for the sake of it,” and the former UFC middleweight champion closed out the interview with some words of advice for Covington.
“Congratulations! You did very well,” Bisping said.
“But let me give you a bit of advice. Tone it down a little notch, enjoy the moment and lose that chip on your shoulder just a little bit and that’s coming from an old pro who’s been there, done it and worn the t-shirt.”
That’s just good TV.
