By now the entire MMA community has learned of the news that longtime U.K. mega-star Michael Bisping has officially retired from the sport.
“The Count” made the news official during an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour on Monday, revealing that he has been having issues with his “good eye” following his knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum at UFC Fight Night 122 in November of 2017.
“I was retired, but I just hadn’t made it formal yet,” said Bisping on Helwani’s show earlier this week. “It’s been a hell of a ride, it’s been amazing, but I knew watching that movie, I’m like, yeah, this is it, this is the end. I can’t do this to my family anymore. I can’t do it to myself. Obviously my eye is in terrible shape, and my good eye, I’m having a couple of issues with that as well. Nobody wants to go blind, and a friend of mine as well said, ‘You know if you went blind, you would give any amount of money in the world and get your sight back,’ and of course you would, so it just isn’t worth it.”
In addition to opening up about the reason behind his decision to retire with Helwani, the former UFC Middleweight Champion also spoke with ESPN’s Brett Okamoto and revealed that he already has his first-post UFC fighting gig.
“The Count” has been named one of the announcers for the new season of Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, which is scheduled to kick off this summer. He is also hopeful that he will be joining some actual UFC events as part of the broadcast team.
Bisping also noted that he has some interest in coaching some fighters, and will obviously continue his Believe You Me podcast. Check out the complete interview, where Bisping also speaks about some license issues he would have faced with his eye issues had he decided to continue fighting, at ESPN.com.
Spoke to Michael Bisping (@bisping) about retirement, original exit plan, worries in recent years he'd be denied a license because of his eye, and what's next. He will commentate DWTNCS this summer, hopes to do UFC fights after. Also wants to coach. https://t.co/5tsnkcpTWa
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) June 5, 2018
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