Michael Bisping retires: You’ve got to know when to walk away
Michael Bisping: “I’ve used my platform to open other doors. You’ve got to know when to walk away. I’m almost 40 years old – the time is now.”
I’ve had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way
One of the great careers in MMA history ended today, as former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping announced on his Believe You Me podcast that it was officially time to fight no more forever.
It ain’t worth it, said Bisping, as transcribed by Steven Marrocco for MMAjunkie. What else am I going to do? I won the belt, I’ve had tons of wins. I’ve done everything I set out to achieve. What’s the point of flogging a dead horse? Not that I’m a dead horse, but what’s the point? … I’ve used my platform to open other doors. You’ve got to know when to walk away. I’m almost 40 years old – the time is now.
It’s been a long journey – in 2003, I started training. So 15 years as a professional fighter, 12 or 13 years in the UFC. You can’t do it forever. I’ve done it for a long time, and of course I’ve got issues with my eye. After the Gastelum fight, I started having issues with my good eye, which I’ve never spoken about before.
‘The Count’ retires at 39 with a record of 30-9, capped by knocking out bitter rival Luke Rockhold to win the world middleweight championship. His 29 fights in the Octagon are a league record. His 20 wins in the UFC are also a record, shared with Georges St-Pierre and Donald Cerrone. Bisping holds the most UFC middleweight wins, with 16. And he is tied for second most middleweight KOs, right behind UFC G.O.A.T. Anderson Silva, who Bisping beat. And he began his UFC career by winning The Ultimate Fighter 3, returning as a coach on two later seasons.
Bisping injured his eye in a fight vs. Vitor Belfort, at a point when the Brazilian was fully indulging in testosterone replacement therapy, a practice that has since been prohibited. ‘The Count’ eventually underwent surgery for a detached retina, and retained an earned enmity towards Belfort, who will always have an asterisk next to his name for PEDs.
A number of candidates had surfaced for a final fight, including Rockhold, Nick Diaz, Alexander Gustafsson, and Rashad Evans. However, Bisping wisely considered his health, and made a decision that serves as a role model for the sport.
Bisping worked in a barbecue factory and a slaughterhouse; he worked as an upholsterer, a postman, a plasterer, a door salesman, and a DJ. Today he has a number of investments including a UFC Gym, a successful podcast, has acted in several movies and TV shows including xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, Triple Threat, and Den of Thieves, and he serves as a studio analyst for FOX in a number of capacities including regularly hosting UFC Tonight. He currently lives in Orange County, California with his wife and three children, the eldest of whom, Callum, appears to be turning into a skilled fighter himself.
Life is good.
The UnderGround thanks Michael Bisping for an extraordinary and inspiring career, with no asterisk. We wish him every success in his post-fight life.
The UFC offered their thanks too: