Interim champ Whittaker slams 'stupid' UFC rival

UFC interim middleweight champion Robert Whittaker has hit out at the 'clownish' Michael Bisping for blowing up after the Australian's UFC 213 victory.

Whittaker defeated Yoel Romero last month to take the interim title while the Englishman Bisping is sidelined through injury.

Bisping was booed by the Las Vegas crowd when he interrupted Whittaker's post-fight interview to slam the Aussie for celebrating with his new championship belt.

"The fact that you're standing there with that f***ing thing on like you're a champion makes me sick," he said.

"You should be ashamed of yourself."

Whittaker has since been pushed aside, with Bisping granted a money fight with Georges St-Pierre.

But the 26-year-old gets the game, even if he doesn't indulge in it.

"Michael Bisping's whole life is a film scene," Whittaker told ESPN.

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"He's always acting. Confronting me at UFC 213, it makes me laugh. It's a bit clownish. You can't try to show someone up like that, and then go fight someone else. It just looks stupid.

"Georges isn't even in this division. It's not as if someone in the top 10 is jumping the queue. This is a money fight. That's exactly what it is. It doesn't bother me.

"People are going to do what they want. I can't get upset if it doesn't work out to my plans, because let's face it, the UFC is a roller coaster."

Whittaker suffered a knee injury in his bout with Romero and expected to fight Bisping in November if the doctors cleared him.

With that date now taken so the 38-year-old Bisping can fight St-Pierre in New York, Whittaker won't fight until 2018.

The UFC did attempt to get him involved in the new season of reality TV show The Ultimate Fighter to keep him involved during his rehab.

That just didn't work out either.

"They approached me right after my fight, but I hadn't seen my kids and family in weeks," Whittaker said.

"It's not as if I live two hours away. I live close to 24 hours away. For me to realistically look at that, you need to make it worth my while.

"I would have had to do all my rehab in the States. I would have had to bring my entire family to the States, take my kids out of school. The offer just wasn't enough."