Bisping announces official retirement, cites new eye injury
Michael Bisping's mixed martial arts career will end without one last fight.
"So obviously I've teased this for a long time now, I might fight again, I might not. And unfortunately, it's not a fight that I’m announcing. I am going to announce my official retirement from mixed martial arts," Bisping said Monday on his "Believe You Me" podcast.
Bisping's manager later confirmed the news.
"Through all that he has achieved, the one thing I'm most proud of is how hard he fought for his family's future, risking his life on the line each time he stepped into the Octagon. I am proud to call Michael a client, but more importantly a dear friend. Now it's time for Michael to achieve greatness in the next phase of his professional career, and the future looks bright, Mr. Bisping. Thank you for all that you’ve done for our sport," Audie Attar said in a statement to MMA Fighting, according to Shaun Al-Shatti.
The 14-year veteran cited an eye injury suffered in his fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Shanghai in November, which he lost via a first-round knockout.
"I realized there’s no flash going on; it's just my eye, and every time I look left, it flashes. And it still does it now when it's dark," Bisping said. "It’s light now so I can't see it. So I started freaking out, thinking oh my God, I don't believe this, I've got a detached retina in my good eye. I have problems with my bad eye, it doesn’t look good, so obviously I was kind of freaking out."
Bisping has had problems with his right eye since taking a head kick from Vitor Belfort in 2013 and has now been diagnosed with a vitreous detachment in his left eye following the Gastelum fight, a condition that increases the risk for another detached retina.
The former middleweight champion finishes with a professional MMA record of 31-9-0. He was ranked No. 6 in the middleweight division at the time of this announcement.
"The Count" holds all-time UFC records for most wins, most fights, and second-most total fight time.
"I was watching this movie last night and I just thought, it ain't worth it," Bisping said. "It ain't worth it. I mean, what else am I going to do? I've won the belt, I've had tons of wins, I’ve done everything that I set out to achieve. What's the point in flogging a dead horse? Not that I'm a dead horse, but what's the point? I've done everything that I set out to achieve, and fortunately now I've used my platform to open other doors."