In January of 2013, in the UFC on FX main event, former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping fought MMA legend Vitor Belfort, during the TRT days of Belfort’s run.
He was savagely knocked out in the second round of the bout by a head-kick for the ages.
The kick would end up scarring Bisping in a away that we haven’t seen in the Octagon before or since.
Belfort delivered permanent damage to Bisping’s right eye, and not only has it impaired the English fighter, it’s been visible for years, as his eye just doesn’t look 100%.
Even with the damaged eye, and impaired vision, Michael Bisping was able to defy the odds and rise the UFC’s middleweight rankings to become the world champion.
But now, after losing his last two-fights, “The Count” reveals that his vision has gotten worse, and his team is imploring him to retire once and for all.
Bisping was expected to take one more fight, and retired in London at the UFC’s upcoming UFC London event. However, in a tweet yesterday Bisping revealed he would not be fighting on the card, telling fans to not buy tickets if they expect to see him fight.
Now, in a new statement made on his podcast, Michael Bisping revealed that that Gastelum fight may have been it for him, as he’s heavily considering retirement on the advise of his family and fight team.
Check it out:
“I’m just debating whether or not I take the fight. For me, whether or not those people can see, I have a bad eye.”
“I have a bad eye and my wife doesn’t want me to continue fighting, and my manager doesn’t want me to continue fighting.”
“I see out of that eye but not as well as I used to, and I’m still a young man so it’s kind of the reason I may hang the gloves up.”
“My wife and manager and friends and people close to me say, ‘Mike, what do you want to do that for? You’ve done it. You’ve had the belt.’”
“I’ve done it. I’ve done what I set out to achieve.”
So, it looks like we may have seen the end of this legend’s days in the cage. However, Michael Bisping will likely be involved with the UFC for a very long time. He’s still an analyst with FOX, and one of the best at that.
