After winning the interim belt on Saturday evening at UFC 225, Colby Covington went on the Fox Sports 1 post-fight show and immediately started calling out the panelists as “haters.” Never one to take something lying down, Michael Bisping fired back at Covington for being a “prick,“ resulting in an heated exchange that drew criticism from some for Bisping lack of professionalism.

Well, Bisping does not agree. Addressing the issue on the most recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, the former middleweight champion explained his side of the controversy, saying that if he had to do it all over again, maybe he wouldn’t be as abrasive but he was just trying to give Covington a willing partner to work his shtick with.

“He came right hot out of the gate,” Bisping said. ”I get it, the guy’s charged and he’s kind of made a career out of being controversial and what-not. Maybe if I could do it again I’d calm down, I‘d bring it down just a notch but the first thing he said was ‘Hey, I’ve got all my haters in one spot. Blah blah blah.’ So I said, hold on a minute, just listen, we actually gave you a lot of compliments. . .

“Colby Covington, he’s Mr. controversy. Everywhere he goes he tries to create controversy. For crying out loud, he Tweets out spoilers to the new Star Wars movies and things like that. So when he came on, the first thing he did was, ‘f**k you guys up there on the panel. Kiss my ass, you all picked me to lose!’ So I thought, okay here we go, we’ve got Colby Covington in rare form - this is what he likes to do - so I thought maybe I’d be a sparring partner for him.

“I wasn’t offended by anything that he said. . . I thought if Colby wants to have a Colby-esque moment and create drama and controversy then I’ll be a sparring partner with him. I gave it back to him a little bit.“

That “giving it back” to Covington drew criticism from some of Bisping’s colleagues, including UFC commentator Jon Anik. In several social media posts, Anik lambasted Bisping’s approach to the situation, calling his behavior “disgraceful.” Anik would later apologize for some of the word choices in his comments in a separate social media post. That was enough for Bisping who said he doesn’t have any ill will towards Anik but couldn’t resist sending a a snarky jab nonetheless.

“We all have different styles,” Bisping joked. ”Jon obviously wouldn’t do that - and I love Jon, don’t get me wrong, I‘m having a bit of fun here - but we’ve got different styles. Jon wouldn’t have done that and I wouldn’t go to social media to berate a colleague. We’ve all just got different styles.”

When pressed on the issue, Bisping did admit that Anik’s comments bothered him a little bit and that he would have preferred Anik handle the situation differently. At the end of the day, he’s not bothered by the controvery and he has nothing but respect for Anik.

“Those comments stung a little bit,” Bisping said. ”If you’ve got a problem, maybe just shoot me a text, maybe give me some advice. Maybe say, ‘Yo Mike, just giving you some advice as a friend. When you’re in that position, try and separate yourself as a fighter.’ Maybe try and guide me along. Don’t say, ‘Hey, I’m hoping this motherf**ker gets fired. He definitely needs to be reprimanded by Fox and this is disgraceful and he should be ashamed.’

“There’s no beef. I respect Jon greatly. I respect him as a commentator, I respect him as a professional, and as a person. I truly do, I’m just having a bit of fun with it. He said it, he apologized, whatever. I couldn’t care less. I’m not in the habit of trying to make enemies. I’m trying to make friends and not hold grudges against people for a silly little Tweet.“

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MUST-READ STORIES

Results. Check out the results from the latest episode of TUF.

Over it. After beating Yoel Romero twice, Robert Whittaker not interested in third meeting.

Hard to catch. Dana White says he has new meeting with Conor McGregor set.

Back up. Thiago Santos to serve as backup plan for TUF 27 Finale main event.

$$$. Tyron Woodley opens as slight betting favorite over Colby Covington.

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VIDEO STEW

Derrick Lewis takes the top spot.

You definitely need to see Dagestani basketball.

Kampmann interview.

TMZ roundup.

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LISTEN UP

Obviously Fight Talk. Discussing UFC 225 and McGregor’s court case.

Morning Wood. Tyron Woodley offering Covington a $10K per takedown bet.

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SOCIAL MEDIA BOUILLABAISSE

Jon keeping it real about Brock.

Beef.

Covington throwing out a first pitch in the belt.

Ambitious.

Wild.

Schaub not really up on who moves the needle these days.

Bisping with a petition to get himself a knighthood.

Colby comes off as a total cornball but this right here is going to work for him.

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FIGHT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tyrell Fortune (4-0) vs. Josue Lugo (8-3 (1 NC); Bellator 201, June 29.

Erick Silva (19-9, 1 NC) vs. Nick Barnes (12-3); LFA 45, July 20.

Jinh Yu (6-3) vs. Minna Grusander (6-1); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Felicia Spencer (4-0) vs. Helena Kolesnyk (5-1); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Heather Jo Clark (7-6) vs. Kimberly Novaes (9-4); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Miranda Maverick (3-0) vs. Brogan Sanchez (5-0); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Shino VanHoose (6-5) vs. Alesha Zappitella (3-0); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Erin Blanchfield (1-0) vs. Brittney Cloudy (0-0); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

Alyse Anderson (3-1) vs. Stephanie Alba (3-2); Invicta FC 30, July 21.

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TODAY IN MMA HISTORY

2014: Demetrious Johnson won a unanimous decision over Ali Bagautinov to retain his flyweight title at UFC 174. In the co-main event, Rory MacDonald handed Tyron Woodley the last (so far) lost of his career by winning a unanimous decision over “The Chosen One.”

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FINAL THOUGHTS

As always, thanks for reading and see y’all tomorrow.

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EXIT POLL

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