After a career spanning fourteen years, former UFC fighter Michael “The Count” Bisping officially announced his retirement from MMA last week. The former UFC Middleweight champion cited an eye injury as the primary reason for his retirement, with his decision coming after several weeks’ of uncertainty over whether to compete one last time in the Octagon following his most recent fight in Shanghai on November 25th, 2017, which he lost to Kelvin Gastelum.
Bisping made the announcement of his retirement on the “Believe You Me” podcast with Luis J. Gomez, citing an eye injury as the main reason for his retirement, along with stating, “It ain’t worth it…What else am I going to do? I won the belt, I’ve had tons of wins. I’ve done everything I set out to achieve. What’s the point of flogging a dead horse? Not that I’m a dead horse, but what’s the point? … I’ve used my platform to open other doors. You’ve got to know when to walk away. I’m almost 40 years old – the time is now.”
Over the course of his fourteen-year career, Bisping has established himself as a formidable and respected fighter in the world of MMA, accumulating a fight record of 30-9, with 20-9 being within his career in the UFC specifically. Bisping also holds the notable distinction of being the first, and thus far only, British-born fighter to win a title within the UFC.
Vision problems have been something of a recurring challenge in Bisping’s MMA career. The former UFC Middleweight champion underwent surgery for a detached retina in 2013, which saw him replaced by Lyoto Machida in his anticipated bout with Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30, and ultimately spent a year away from The Octagon before returning to face Tim Kennedy at The Ultimate Fighter Nationals Finale on April 16th, 2014. Bisping also suffers from a condition called strabismus, in which the eyes are not properly aligned when looking at an object, coming as a result of the detached retina he incurred in his fight with Vitor Belfort in 2013.
While Bisping is throwing in the towel as a professional fighter, like many MMA fighters, he’s already begun making the transition to moviemaking. Bisping was previously seen alongside Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen, and Tony Jaa in last year’s “xXx: Return of Xander Cage“, and will also be seen later this year in the hotly anticipated ensemble martial arts film “Triple Threat“, alongside Jaa, Iko Uwais, Tiger Chen, Scott Adkins, Michael Jai White, Jeeja Yanin, and Celina Jade!
Which of Michael Bisping’s fight moments do you recall best and what are your views on his retirement from MMA? Hyped to see him in the upcoming “Triple Threat”? What other action movies would you like to see him get involved in post-MMA? Let us know in the comments below, join in the conversation and share this on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and of course Instagram. (Get plenty more FU-news too!)
