Michael Bisping tells Joe Rogan that he ‘wouldn’t have retired yet’ without UFC title win

Earlier this year, British MMA legend Michael Bisping announced his retirement from mixed martial arts competition, closing the curtain on a truly incredible career.

Perhaps the most impressive feat on Bisping’s lengthy resume occurred in June of 2016, when he stepped up to battle then UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold on short notice, and scored a massive upset by the stealing the title with a first-round knockout win.

In fact, Michael Bisping recently told Joe Rogan that, if he hadn’t won the UFC middleweight title, he would likely still be fighting in an effort to do so.

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“I wouldn’t have retired, I wouldn’t have retired yet,” Bisping said on the Joe Rogan Experience. “I’d know I could still do it. I could still fight now, but the time was right.”

While Michael Bisping admitted he’d probably still be fighting if he’d never capture a UFC title, he acknowledged that his issues with his eyes were becoming a problem — and not just his right eye, which had been giving him problems since his 2013 loss to Vitor Belfort. His good eye too.

“I started having issues with my good eye as well after the [Kelvin] Gastelum fight, so I’m like, ‘this isn’t worth it,’ he said.

Now happily retired from mixed martial arts, Michael Bisping told Joe Rogan that he still has vision issues. Apparently, however, he’s able to see well enough that being licensed to fight by an athletic commission would not be an issue.

“I see a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny bit [out of my right eye],” the former champ explained. “I don’t really see out of it, and the vision’s very blurred. I mean, I was able to pass the tests. To be able to be cleared by a commission to fight, you’ve got to 2200 vision, which I was able to scrape by with the skin of my teeth. My doctor was always amazed that I could see to that amount. If I squinted in the right direction and I turned here (gestures) and the light was just right, I could just about make 2200.”

Although his days as a UFC fighter are over, Michael Bisping is expected to debut as a commentator for the promotion in 2019, and may wind up sharing the broadcast booth with Joe Rogan.

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/14/2018.