Michael Bisping 's UFC career was over after detaching his retina against Vitor Belfort in 2013 - at least that's what Dana White told him.
The Brit suffered the career-threatening injury when he was knocked out by Belfort, who was using now-banned testosterone replacement therapy at the time of the fight. Bisping would go on to suffer from eye issues for the remainder of his career.
Bisping fought again just months after his loss to Belfort, but would take a year away from the octagon after a phone call from UFC boss White informing him that his career was in jeopardy.
Despite White's concerns, Bisping was adamant that he would find a way to get medical clearance for his injury as doctors gave him the slightest chance of returning to the sport.
"I didn't think it was the end of the road, I was certainly shocked at that moment in time," he told Mirror Fighting . "Dana's been a great friend to me over the years, so I knew he was coming at it from several different angles.
"He was like 'Mike, let's cut straight to the chase. You're never gonna fight again.' I was trying to fight back the tears because that was my life. It was tough, but I didn't know what to think.
"I went and spoke to a doctor and they confirmed what Dana said, but they also gave me a glimmer of hope at the same time. In very rare occasions, they said they have seen people's vision improve."
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Bisping would go on to receive medical clearance for several years and won the UFC middleweight title in 2016 after knocking out former rival Luke Rockhold on just over two weeks notice.
But 'The Count' admitted in the year he took away from the cage because of his injury, he was depressed whilst being forced to sit and watch television as physical exercise was not permitted by his doctor.
"You've only got to be cleared 20/200 vision, which is still clinically blind," he added. "If it only improved a tiny bit, I'd still be able to fight again. So that's what kept me going, I used to go the doctor's every week for a check up.
"I was told I couldn't do anything to get my heart rate up, because if my heart rate went up that could affect the healing in the eye. So on doctor's orders, I had to sit on the couch, drink beer and watch Soprano's for a year."
BISPING: The Michael Bisping Story is available to rent or own on digital from 21st March.
