Michael Bisping Announces Retirement From MMA

Michael Bisping is foregoing his plans for a final fight and has retired from mixed martial arts competition. Bisping made the announcement on his Believe You Me podcast, noting that his vision problems have led him to hang up the gloves for good.

“It ain’t worth it,” Bisping said (per 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.”

He added, “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 (Kelvin) Gastelum fight, I started having issues with my good eye, which I’ve never spoken about before.”

Bisping’s agent, Audie Attar, said in a statement, “Congrats to Michael on a Hall of Fame career,” Attar said. “‘The Ultimate Fighter’ winner, two-time ‘Ultimate fighter’ coach, winningest fighter in UFC history and first British UFC Champion in history. I’ve been honored to work with Michael toward the championship years and have watched him fight through trials and tribulations as he was a perennial title contender, ultimately reaching the sport’s greatest achievement by winning a UFC championship. Through all that, he has achieved the one thing I’m most proud of – how hard he fought for his family’s future, risking his life on the line each time he stepped into the octagon. I am proud to call Michael a client, but more importantly a dear friend. Now it’s time for Michael to achieve greatness in the next phase of his professional career. The future looks bright, Mr. Bisping. Thank you for all that you’ve done for our sport!”

Bisping retires with a 20 – 9 record in the UFC, and 30 – 9 overall in his professional career. He won the UFC middleweight championship in June of 2016 at UFC 199, successfully defending it against Dan Henderson before losing to Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217 in November of 2017.