In an intimate conversation on the podcast, Michael Bisping revealed the harrowing details behind his retirement, centered around a troublesome near-loss of his second eye.
Bisping’s battle with eye injuries was more than just a medical challenge – it was a testament to his bravery. During the interview, he candidly discussed how he nearly lost vision in his second eye, a risk that ultimately prompted his retirement from professional MMA.
“That’s why I retired, because I almost lost my second one,” Bisping explained.
The former UFC middleweight champion described experiencing alarming symptoms while in Shanghai. He noticed peculiar visual disturbances, such as difficulty seeing his hand in dark restaurants. After consulting a doctor, he learned he had a detached retina that required immediate surgical intervention.
” I was in China, Shanghai, and then we went to the afterparty. I know the symptoms of a detached retina. ”
“Like, it started off—I’d be in a restaurant. You know restaurants are dark. I’d be in a restaurant, and I’d be like, ‘I can’t see my hand down.’ And Damian, a buddy of ours, would be like, ‘Oh, look, he’s doing the thing again with his fingers.’ You know?”
“Anyway, we’re in China, and we’re in this [__] big, huge nightclub. There was a big shark in a fish tank. I looked to the left and looked back, and I get this flash of light in my eye. I look left again, look right, and it just kept doing it. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t believe this.’ ”
“And I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t believe it. He warned me.’ And I was so pigheaded and arrogant. ‘I’ll be fine.’ Because I always thought, ‘Lightning ain’t going to strike twice.”
Bisping was previously cautioned by an old school Doctor during a medical exam:
“Anyway, so then (Doctor) says, ‘Right, you’ve passed.’ He said, ‘But I wouldn’t , Michael, because if anything happens to your good eye, you’re going to be blind.’”
What makes Bisping’s story even more concerning is how he previously navigated eye exams during his MMA career. He admitted to using coded communication with his coach to pass vision tests, knowing full well the potential consequences of his compromised eyesight.
“I was always terrified I’m spending all this money on a training camp… I’m going to fly off to wherever it is and then day before I’m going to get pulled…” he recalled.
Bisping’s willingness to potentially sacrifice his long-term vision for the opportunity to compete highlights the raw passion that defined his career.
