Yoel Romero and Robert Whittaker put on a brilliant fight at UFC 213 on Saturday, and more than just the interim middleweight championship was on the line with Michael Bisping waiting in the wings.
The 185-pound division was in a bit of a mess, ever since it was revealed that Georges St-Pierre would be making his UFC return at middleweight to battle Bisping, rather than defending the gold against a top contender in the division.
NEW INTERIM CHAMPION
While GSP is no longer in that position, according to UFC president Dana White, The Count is currently nursing an injury and the organisation created an interim version of the title so that there was an active champion while the Englishman was unable to fight – and Whittaker emerged victorious in Las Vegas.
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The win means Bobby Knuckles won his eighth fight on the bounce, having convincingly beaten Jacare Souza in his last outing before squeezing past the Soldier of God, someone who many believed was destined to fight Bisping after their longstanding rivalry.
One thing Bisping has never shied away from is his dislike of UFC creating interim titles, as he believes the fighters holding those belts aren’t real champions and he made his feelings clear when he entered the Octagon to stand opposite a future opponent where it will be decided who the best middleweight on the planet truly is.
In true Bisping fashion, he stole the limelight from Whittaker after congratulating the pair at first, before blasting Whittaker for standing there like a champion and threw his own title on the ground and told Whittaker to take it.
POST FIGHT INTERVIEW
As you’ll be able to see below, Whittaker said: “Listen, we were destined to fight, mate. I think it’s fate. We were destined to fight, mate. I think it’s fate, it really is.
“I’m happy to keep the seat warm until you’re back. Give me a breather and we’ll give it a good crack, yeah?”
Bisping then responded by saying: “First of all Robert, that was an awesome fight. Romero, well done.
“I wanted to come here and talk a lot of s**t but it was an awesome fight.
“But the fact that you’re standing there with that f***ing belt on like you’re a champion, it makes me sick, you should be ashamed of yourself! Here [throws belt] take that, take that, fight me for it, and I’ll see you soon motherf****r!”
That certainly escalated quickly, but Whittaker also saw the funny side as he asked whether he could keep the full championship title which Bisping had thrown on the ground.
There’s not much Bisping can do about it, though, as the organisation needed an active champion while he couldn’t fight and this just makes their eventual clash that much more interesting.
What do you make of Michael Bisping’s remarks after Robert Whittaker’s victory? Have YOUR say in the comments section below.
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