Michael Bisping curses out calm Luke Rockhold on UFC Fight Night 55 call

Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold‘s rivalry has morphed into something kind of enhanced, kind of serious, and yet still fairly compelling.

The middleweights took turns today denying the other had gotten under their skin since the announcement of their UFC Fight Night 55 headliner, though at times, they could have fooled people.

On a teleconference in support of the fight, they agreed they were selling the fight as they sniped and argued with each other, with the seasoned trash talker Bisping (25-6 MMA, 15-6 UFC) frequently drowning out the soft-spoken Rockhold (12-2 MMA, 2-1 UFC) over a 45-minute call less than two weeks ahead of the UFC Fight Pass-streamed event at Sydney’s Allphones Arena on Nov. 8.

Bisping took the first opportunity to make a soundbite, ranting at Rockhold in response to the characterization that his selfishness is well-known around the MMA industry and part of the reason Rockhold wanted the fight.

“Well, allow me to shed some light on that situation because Luke, I’m not sure he’s aware of this, this is a f–king conference call, so you’re supposed to try and be a little bit eloquent and get your side of the story over,” Bisping said. “Luke, I don’t know you, I don’t care for you, we haven’t shared a single proper conversation. You’re basing your facts, or what you presume is fact, on absolutely nothing, on fresh air. We’ve had one conversation of the sparring match in question, which everybody talks about.

“You don’t know me, you don’t know me as a person, so kiss my f–king ass, you lanky piece of s–t. I’ll see you in Australia, you a–hole. We’ll put it all to bed then.”

The teleconference might have ended there for its definitiveness, or on the other hand instigated a heated argument. Instead, the calm Rockhold responded, “I’m not going to let my emotions get the better of me.”

As he had in an interview with MMAjunkie, Rockhold said he’d learned to control his emotions following a knockout loss to current title contender Vitor Belfort in his UFC debut. Despite Bisping’s grating personality, he said he made a pact with himself not to get emotionally invested.

http://mmajunkie.com/2014/10/why-is-michael-bisping-in-so-many-feuds-luke-rockhold-has-a-theory

Rockhold never raised his voice as Bisping mocked his version of a run-in between the two that fueled their public rivalry. Rockhold said an infamous run-in following Bisping’s August victory over Cung Le in Macau was an “unavoidable situation” and caused by the instigations of a “little friend” the U.K. fighter brought to the fight.

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“(The guy he’s talking about) doesn’t say two words to anyone, he’s the quietest person you’ll ever meet,” Bisping retorted. “And he’s saying this guy was staring at him talking s–t? Luke, you’re a liar. You’re an absolute liar. Nobody was looking at you; you came up, you interrupted, you showed a lack of class and I’ll punish you next week for it.”

“No, you won’t,” replied Rockhold, adding that Bisping’s friend and father had even gotten in on the act of baiting him prior to the event.

Rockhold didn’t even bite when Bisping jabbed at his loss to Belfort and pointed out that the Brazilian had stopped him definitively, as well.

“Ooh-hooh,” Bisping chimed. “My little friend was picking on you. God bless.”

“Hey, this is Michael Bisping at his finest,” replied Rockhold.

The closest Rockhold got to riled up was a dig at Bisping’s infamous incident in which he spat at the cornerman of opponent Jorge Rivera after his win. But by then, the Brit’s ire seemed to have died down.

Much of the work of promoting the fight has already been done, of course. The two argued at a previous press conference and for a TV interview. At this point, there wasn’t a whole lot to add.

Compared to other recent rivalries between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier and Jose Aldo and Chad Mendes, the two weren’t quite sure how theirs measured up. But with not much time left to the fight, both said they were ready to get into the cage.

“People love a genuine feud, and this is what they’re getting,” Rockhold told MMAjunkie. “I don’t like the guy, and I’m going to voice my opinion. I’m going to sell the fight. I’m a competitive person, whether we’re talking or fighting. I’m not going to lose at all to this guy. I’m selling the fight, he’s selling the fight, and the pre-fight hype is nothing compared to what you’re going to see on Nov. 8.

“No one can compare to what Jones and D.C. did, but I think we’re doing alright.”

“It’s not a case of trying to outdo other fighters,” Bisping added. “Obviously, this is an intriguing middleweight matchup, and it kind of sells itself. As Luke as told everybody, he doesn’t like me, and so of course, he’s not at the top of my Christmas list. There’s certainly no love lost between us. We’re two highly skilled individuals that bring it.

“Luke, for all the disdain he feels toward me, he’s a good fighter and he fights well. And so do I, so that has all the ingredients for a highly watchable fight. And of course, there’s all the bad blood going into it. I’ve been myself as usual. As he said, you probably can’t compare anything to Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier. I mean, that’s the best pre-fight hype ever, but you still have a week left. We’ll see what happens at the press conference next week.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 55, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Michael Bisping)