Michael Bisping reveals he was injured before GSP fight, claims he’d win rematch

In late 2017, Michael Bisping attempted to defend the UFC middleweight title opposite returning welterweight legend Georges St-Pierre. Despite an admirable effort, Bisping was ultimately dropped and submitted by his Canadian foe in the waning moments of the third round.

Speaking to MMA Junkie during a promotional tour for his new autobiography, Quitters Never Win, Bisping revealed that his performance in this fight was hindered by a rib injury, and claimed that he’d defeat St-Pierre in a rematch.

“Well, I know for a fact I could wipe the floor with Georges St-Pierre, so I’d like to do that one again,” Bisping said. “I tore my ribs a week before that fight; it’s all in the book. I didn’t break them. I tore the cartilage. I couldn’t move very well.”

Michael Bisping went on to detail the pickle he found himself in as he attempted to deal with this injury. It’s quite a story:

“I sneaked in a needle full of lidocaine, and I was going to, in the toilets, inject myself with lidocaine into the rib, which would numb the rib so I wouldn’t have any pain,” Bisping revealed. “Because it’s not a banned substance from USADA, I could have gone to the commission and said, ‘Hey, I want to inject myself with lidocaine.’ That wouldn’t have been the issue. But the fact that I had an injury, they might have pulled me from the fight.

“But then my doctor said, ‘You’ve got to be careful, because if you inject yourself with lidocaine in the rib and you get it slightly wrong, you could puncture your lung and die.’ So I had it all in the bag, and I was going to FaceTime my doctor, on the toilet while the commission members were outside, and he was going to talk me through injecting myself with lidocaine.

“But when I got there I’m like, ‘This is too much, bollocks to it.’ So I just went out there and fought injured. Everyone was saying, ‘You weren’t moving too well.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, no (expletive)!’ My ribs were seriously messed up!”

What do you make of this tale from Michael Bisping?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 7/30/2019.