Former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping Retires

Michael Bisping is hanging up his gloves.

Bisping had been contemplating whether or not he wanted to have at least one more fight. Bisping entertained a rubber match with Luke Rockhold, but he’s decided that retirement is his best route. “The Count” made the announcement during a recent edition of his “Believe You Me” podcast (via BJPenn.com):

“You know, you can’t do it forever. Done it for a long time. Of course I’ve got issues with my eye. after the [Kelvin] Gastelum fight then I started having issues with my good eye, which I’ve never spoken about before… After the Gastelum fight, I went to a party with all my team, my friends that had flown in to watch. We went to a club, and because it’s dark I just kept seeing this flash out the corner of my good eye. I’m like, ‘what the hell?’ I kept looking. I kept seeing a flash so i kept looking, and doing that constantly … You got to know when to walk away. I’m almost 40 years old. The time is now.”

Bisping ends his career with a professional mixed martial arts record of 30-9. For a while, fans were wondering if Bisping would become one of the best UFC fighters to never win a title. Back in June 2016, Bisping shocked the world by knocking out Rockhold in the first round to capture middleweight gold.

After a successful title defense against Dan Henderson, Bisping put his gold on the line against Georges St-Pierre. “The Count” would lose the bout via third-round submission. That same month, Bisping took on Kelvin Gastelum. He ended up losing that bout as well via first-round knockout.

Many consider Bisping to be a pioneer for MMA fighters in England. There is perhaps no doubting his status as a future UFC Hall of Famer. Watch his retirement in full below:

What will fans miss the most about Michael Bisping?

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