UFC Hall of Famer admits he feared going fully blind after his final MMA bout against Kelvin Gastelum.
Back in Nov. 2017, Bisping had the final two fights of his pro MMA career. First, Bisping lost the UFC middleweight championship to Georges St-Pierre after being choked out. He then took a bout with Kelvin Gastelum that same month, suffering a knockout loss in the opening frame.
Bisping Feared Going Fully Blind After Gastelum Bout
During an interview with Submission Radio, Bisping looked back on the time he thought he’d go fully blind after the Gastelum fight (via MMAFighting.com).
“I fight Georges St-Pierre, I lose that fight, and he knew I was blind in one eye – he targeted it,” Bisping said. “Then, I fly to Shanghai, couple of weeks later I fight Kelvin Gastelum, I get cracked, I think I’ve had a good run and that was that.
“And then we go to an after-party afterward, and I’m sitting there in this club, and every time I look this way, I get a flash of light. I was like, what was that? So I look again, another flash of light. And every time I look to the left, I would get a flash of light. And I started panicking because I’m thinking, holy sh*t, I don’t believe this, I’ve got a detached retina in my good eye. And I started getting emotional, in a night club. I’ve had a couple of drinks, but I’m like, f*ck, I’m thinking I’m gonna go blind.”
Bisping suffered a detached retina in a Jan. 2013 bout against Vitor Belfort. Since that time, Bisping fought with just one good eye. Today, Bisping uses a prosthetic eye.
Despite not being able to end his career on a high note, Bisping’s accomplishments speak for itself. He is considered to be a pioneer for MMA in Europe and few would argue his place in the UFC Hall of Fame.
