Breaking Down UFC 127: Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera

Added on Feb 24, 2011 by John Petit in

UFC & MMA

Michael Bisping vs. Jorge Rivera

If you haven’t heard about the tremendous amount of trash talking between these two, sometime before the fight search 20 minutes on youtube, and be prepared to laugh. The bad news for Jorge Rivera is that he actually has to get into the cage with Bisping, because he has clearly won the talking battle. The 19–7 Jorge Rivera will be relying on his veteran status to squash the British stand out Michael Bisping who is currently 20-3.

Jorge Rivera is riding a three fight winning streak, and momentum is on his side. Rivera was never really able to put guys away later in a fight, and lately he has been doing just that. Everyone wants to run in and win in 12 seconds, but being able to mount a come back and have faith in your striking late in a fight, is a good thing to have in your back pocket. Rivera only has a few fights more then Bisping, but Jorge has been in the cage with current middleweight Champion Anderson Silva before he was in the UFC, and Former Champion Rich Franklin during his reign at middleweight. Rivera’s Muay Thai has been evolving, and has been looking really solid. You also have to respect his right hand, because he can put most people on queer street with one punch. Rivera was supposed to fight Alessio Sakara at UFC 122, but Sakara pulled out of the fight on fight day.

Michael Bisping has a way of rubbing people the wrong way. MMA Fans had an initial bad impression of him while he was on the Ultimate Fighter, and it got worse after he acted like a fool when he beat Matt Hammil by a decision many people thought was wrong. Then he played the villain role nicely against Dan Henderson for another 12 weeks, and was knocked out in a vicious fashion at one of the biggest UFC events in history. I have not seen any real improvement in Michael Bisping besides his foot work over the his past two wins, and he really never hurt Akiyama or Dan Miller in those wins. Bisping should have the crown on his side for this fight, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the pendulum swung the other way on that one.

It really sounds like both of these guys are going to come to the center of the Octagon and trade punches like ‘Rock em Sock Em Robots.’ I am not sure if that would be a good idea for either of the two, as both of them have been knocked out. The key for Bisping is to do the opposite of what he did against Dan Henderson. If Bisping circles to his left, Rivera’s right, then he should probably book a hospital room in advance to save some money. Rivera will knock him clean out if he connects with Bisping’s chin. Bisping has a way of winning decisions, and I have a feeling we are going to see one in this fight. I think Bisping will win this one by a hair, and maybe even a decision that could go either way.