UFC champ Michael Bisping unleashes on 'easy payday' Georges St-Pierre in first media showdown

LAS VEGAS – The promotion for the UFC’s next middleweight title fight got off to a hot start today when champion Michael Bisping and challenger Georges St-Pierre engaged in some verbal sparring at a press conference in Las Vegas.

After officials announced the fight between Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) and St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC) earlier this week, the current 185-pound titleholder and former longtime welterweight champ began hyping their fight today in a press conference at T-Mobile Arena.

The press conference started more than 30 minutes late after the UFC apparently sent Bisping’s car to the wrong hotel. It began minutes before Bisping arrived, and St-Pierre was talking when “The Count” finally showed up.

Bisping was happy to interrupt and was as belligerent as ever – so much so that St-Pierre asked if he had indulged in some alcoholic beverages beforehand.

“I think Vegas got the best out of you unfortunately,” St-Pierre said. “I think you should shut up you are embarrassing yourself right now. Are you still drunk right now? What is going on with him? What is happening with you? My God. Are you healthy. Are you OK?”

The routinely quick-witted Bisping was – unsurprisingly – fast to fire back.

“I’m going to get the (expletive) best out of you so shut the (expletive) up,” Bisping said. “I’ll go on an all night (expletive) bender and still beat you pal. I won’t even train. Look at the state of you, ya old (expletive) midget.”

St-Pierre hasn’t fought in the UFC in more than three years after he took an extended hiatus from the sport following a 170-pound title defense over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in November 2013. He vacated the title and spent time exploring ventures outside of MMA but remained active in training.

Bisping, meanwhile, has been fighting and winning to the point he captured the UFC title and bested St-Pierre’s longstanding record for most career UFC victories. Bisping wasn’t shy to remind the French-Canadian of the differences between the recent years of their careers.

“Georges, listen, while you were away because you were so scared of everybody taking steroids, I was man enough to still be fighting those guys,” Bisping said. “You went away. You went and (expletive) chased aliens. I don’t know what you did. No one gives a (expletive) where you were or what you did. Coming back, the sport is a different place. Game over.”

With the tension high, both competitors were clearly somewhat irritated with each other. Bisping said he’s ready to fight as soon as possible, but UFC President Dana White said some obstacles must first be cleared before a fight date is finalized. White would like to see the fight happen during July’s annual International Fight Week festivities, but it’s far from official.

Bisping used that bit of the conversation to further poke at St-Pierre.

“When is the fight Georges? When is the fight? When do you want to fight?” Bisping asked. “I’ll fight right now. That’s the difference between you and me. I’m a real fighter. You’re an athlete, and good for you. You’re a very, very good athlete, but you’re an athlete. I’m a fighter. Fact.”

St-Pierre made it clear he wasn’t intimidated.

“You don’t scare me one bit,” St-Pierre said. “Not one bit.”

Although St-Pierre has never competed at middleweight, he skipped the line and got an immediate title shot.

During the brief periods when he wasn’t interrupted, St-Pierre shed some light on his situation. He said he has a longterm plan in place but insisted he is going to keep it under wraps until after the fight with Bisping.

“I have longterm goals,” St-Pierre said. “I know approximately which direction I want to take, but I’m going to be 36 years old when the fight happens, and I want to make the biggest fight possible. I want to make history, and right now, I’m focusing on the short-term goals, which is this guy.”

Regardless of the plan, Bisping said he plans to spoil it. He said he thinks St-Pierre came back to challenge him for the belt because he sees the Brit as an easy fight. But in Bisping’s mind, he’s the one with the simpler task on his hands.

“It’s an easy payday,” Bisping said. “Let’s cut the bull(expletive). It’s a (expletive) easy payday, so thank you Georges.”

For more on the UFC’s upcoming schedule, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.