For anyone unfamiliar, Rivera (a B-level fighter at best) was granted a fight well above his ability due largely in part to the shit-talking campaign he went on, calling Bisping out in particular and going out of his way to ridicule the Brit. Trash talking is a time honored tradition of MMA (and sport in general), and the public has not only a tolerance, but a thirst for such pre-fight vitriol. Some fighters take such trash talk a notch (or several) above what is typical (if you were under a rock for Chael Sonnen's pre fight interviews leading up to his fight with middleweight champion Anderson Silva, stop reading and get on YouTube immediately). Jorge Rivera stepped the seemingly real (and somewhat puzzling) trash talk up leading up to UFC 127, posting a series of videos on YouTube in which him and his team make fun on Bisping on numerous levels.
Fast forward to the fight. Bisping did what Bisping does. He dominated a fighter he should have dominated, ending the fight with a TKO, and shutting Jorge Rivera up. It's what occurred next that is my area of interest. In the adrenaline of just having beaten the piss out of someone who had offended you on multiple levels, Bisping did what many other fighters considered inappropriate when he spit at Rivera's corner, and told his defeated opponent to 'go home loser'. Everyone from Dana White, to Nate Marquart, to Chael Sonnen (of all people) have openly criticized Bisping, stating that he needs to apologize and that they want to 'hit him in the face' (Marquart).
I think a little perspective is in order here. Is it necessary to spit at someone or otherwise act as Bisping did in the aftermath of his TKO? Of course not. However, why was there almost no discussion of the role Rivera had in creating the situation which led to Bisping's behavior? Even Bisping himself came out and apologized! I disagree with this entirely for a simple reason: it creates a double standard. Why is inappropriate trash talk, which crosses personal, cultural, and professional boundaries in its manifestations acceptable, so long as it's before the fight? Yet, someone having a normal response to being ridiculed, mistreated, disrespected, and otherwise made fun of is unacceptable because the reaction comes after the fight. It defies logic, and sets a dangerous double standards. Trash talk and ridiculous behavior is either acceptable, or it is not. The timing of such behavior should not dictate its perception. Perhaps we are spoiled at seeing grown men beat the hell out of each other for 15 minutes then embrace like long lost brothers. That's all well and good, and sportsmanship is nice to see in all events, however we cannot laud pre-fight shit talking as 'hyping up the fight', yet post fight shit talking as inappropriate and punishable. So, in defense of a fighter I don't like at all, leave Michael Bisping alone! Rivera was a dick and got the reaction he deserved, along with the ass kicking!
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