Michael Bisping has detailed how many times he fought 11 times with one eye after a hit which should have been career-ending.
In 2013, Bisping was hit with a vicious head kick by Vitor Belfort, knocking him out. At the time Belfort had been using a now-banned testosterone replacement therapy, more commonly known as TRT, which had given a clear physical advantage in the octagon.
Bisping would go on to suffer from eye issues for the remainder of his career, after the kick had given him a detached retina - fighting 11 further times, practically with one eye. Somewhat shockingly, he would fight just three months after the emphatic KO loss - defeating Alan Belcher at UFC 159, but after this his career was in jeopardy.
It was around this time that the UFC brought in strict testing regulations for fighters to pass in order to medically clear them to fight, and by his own admission, Bisping found ways around to clear himself to return to the octagon - something he would have to do for all of his future fights.
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Speaking exclusively to Liverpool Echo, Bisping said: "I had a lot of bad luck with my eye - everything that could have gone wrong went wrong.
"I am not someone who goes back and watches my old fights, but I happened to be watching TV the other week and my fight with Cung Le came on. And I watched myself after the fight talking about wanting to shot at the title - and I think what are you on about, because I know that this guy is blind in one eye!
"But to be honest, at the time, I didn't give a damn, I had so much confidence and I did not want to stop. My mindset was crazy, but that helped me throughout my career."
After being told by White that he wouldn't fight again, Bisping kept seeking medical attention in attempts to be cleared, as he would continue to scrape through - allowing himself to fight 11 more times in the octagon and just three years later, he would defeat Luke Rockhold in dramatic fashion to win the middleweight championship.
When recalling that moment in 2016, Bisping said: "Talk about a high - that really was unbelievable. Obviously, I am sure you have seen it - I jump on the cage and shout f*** you. That wasn't so much to him, but it was to all the people who had written me off - all the journalists who had wrote s*** about me, the fans that had discredited me. It was an incredible feeling."
That year would be his favourite of his career, with beating Rockhold for the title sandwiched in between his famous victory over the legendary Anderson Silva, before defeating bitter rival Dan Henderson at London defending his middleweight belt in front of his home country fans.
After retiring in 2018, Bisping became a UFC Hall of Famer the following year.
BISPING: THE MICHAEL BISPING STORY is available to rent or own on digital now.
