Michael Bisping's manager: Rumor about sparring knockout 'complete bollocks'

There’s a rumor going around that UFC middleweight Michael Bisping was knocked out in a recent sparring session. It’s not so much a rumor as it is “complete bollocks,” as the fighter’s manager put it.

Bisping, the rumor goes, recently visited Wild Card Boxing Club, which is Freddie Roach’s famed Los Angeles gym that’s home to both boxers and the occasional MMA fighter. After allegedly disrespecting a sparring partner, a coach sent in a “professional boxer,” who promptly knocked out Bisping.

The problem, according to manager Audie Attar, is that there’s no truth to the rumor. In fact, he said Bisping hasn’t been to the gym since 2012.

“I’ll use a British word: That’s complete bollocks,” Attar today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s rubbish. It’s rubbish. And it’s really something that pissed Mike off. It really did because, hey, he’s gotten knocked in a fight, but in sparring, he’s never been knocked out.

“He’s been to Wild Card one time, and that was more than a year ago. So it was really disturbing. We’re seeing another tweet, and they’re saying everything they post is the truth, so now we need to kind of step it and go to the next level. … When you print false words about someone and the person tells you it’s not true, you need to either prove it’s not true or deal with the consequences.”

The rumor originated in MiddleEasy.com‘s Sunday Morning Rumor Mill earlier this week. The website owners are standing by the claim.

“Folks, if this wasn’t from a reliable source then we would have never placed it in our SMRM,” they wrote today. “… We know the source of our rumor is a strong one, and we just can’t imagine a scenario in which this person would fabricate anything.”

Bisping took the denial a step further and today posted a video.

“Whoever’s saying I got knocked out recently in sparring is full of s—,” he said. “I’ve never been knocked out sparring in my life.”

Bisping then directed a raspberry and middle finger at the website.

Attar, meanwhile, is playing it a bit more cool.

“At the end of the day, they’re going to do what they do, and we’re going to do what we do,” he said. “Hopefully we can resolve this matter and move on in an amicable way, but if not, I guess that’s what it is, right?”

In the meantime, Bisping is preparing for his upcoming bout. Although not official, as MMAjunkie.com first reported, Bisping (24-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC) is expected to fight Mark Munoz (13-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) on Oct. 26 at Manchester Arena in England.

For more on UFC Fight Night in Manchester, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Ga