Earlier this week the ex UFC middleweight champion broke the news on episode 65 of his Believe You Me podcast with Luis Gomez that he'd decided to hang up his gloves for good and officially retire from MMA. Leaving behind a record of 30-9, Michael Bisping was the first British fighter to become a UFC champion and is considered the face of UK MMA.
He made the announcement just a day after Darren Till's razor close decision win over the no. 1 ranked Welterweight Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson, which seems fitting given that Till is probably going to become the second English fighter to become a champion, Bisping's work is done, Till's has just begun, the torch has officially been passed!
With 15 years as a professional fighter, I don't think anyone's arguing against his decision, he beat Anderson Silva, he beat Luke Rockhold in what has to be my, and probably every Englishman's, favourite title win, he became the first English champion and avenged his loss to Rockhold at the same time! He then went on to avenge his devastating loss to Dan Henderson and solidify his legacy as one of the best of all time.
It's common knowledge that he's had issues with his eye since his loss to Vitor Belfort but something he also touched on in his podcast was that he was actually starting to have problems with his other eye as well after his KO loss to Kelvin Gastelum. He mentioned being in talks to fight Rashad Evans on the London card which would have given him the chance to avenge another loss but eventually decided against it.
Seeing him lose the belt to GSP was probably heartbreaking to all the British fans but honestly he couldn't have lost it to a nicer guy! GSP is a phenom who's transcended the rankings at this point and it was just nice to see Bisping get a well earned pay day from that fight, it would have been epic to see him win but now we'll probably get to see GSP fight the winner of Khabib and Conor, everything a reason!
I have nothing but respect for Michael Bisping and after he broke the news on Monday it became evident that the MMA community felt the same way, he was a gem to the sport and managed to stay relevant for 15 years! He was one of the best trash talkers and more times than not he backed it up with impressive victories over his peers.
If you haven't watched his Believe You Me podcast yet I definitely recommend it, there's some great banter, lots of MMA talk and they cover interesting topics, they also talk a lot of shit but it's probably my favourite MMA podcast and that's including the MMA hour, the MMA beat, the Weasle, the Luke Thomas live chat and the Joe Rogan show!
Here's to a great career full of exciting fights, entertaining press conferences and 65 episodes of Believe You Me! Bisping's a rare breed and we'll miss watching him fight but watching him talk is almost as good! And here's to Darren Till picking up where Bisping left off, British MMA is definitely in good hands! Conceive, Believe, Achieve... Shut the fuck up!
What's your favourite Michael Bisping memory?