UFC legend and former middleweight champion Michael Bisping said that he is “100%” willing to come out of retirement to fight his rival Luke Rockhold.
Bisping, now 45, lost to Rockhold in the UFC in 2014 before beating him in 2016 for the middleweight championship despite filling in for another fighter on just two weeks notice. The 185-pound fighter would defend the title once before losing to Georges St. Pierre, who is viewed as one of the greatest fighters of all time.
The Englishman retired a few weeks later after losing another short-notice fight in Japan.
During an episode of the “Believe You Me” podcast, the former fighter said that he had been doing a livestream when a fan told him that he needs to have a third fight with Rockhold to complete their trilogy.
Bisping then stated that he was willing to come out of retirement to fight Rockhold in Karate Combat, an MMA organization with similar fighting to the UFC but less grappling.
“I’ll do Karate Combat against Luke Rockhold, I’ll do it. I’ll do it. I will have a trilogy with Luke Rockhold in Karate Combat, I would love to.”
“Why don’t we book that?” Anthony Smith, cohost and UFC fighter said with a grin.
“This has gotten momentum a bit too quickly, let me see my hip doctor first,” Bisping replied. “I’m joking but I’d do it. 100%, I would. Yeah, well done to Luke [in his recent fight], fair play man. Fair play.”
“Ok, I’ll call you after the show. We’ll get this booked,” Smith said assertively. “The next show will be a fight announcement.”
“I’m comin’ back blind!” Bisping laughed. “I’m already walking into bloody walls.”
For much of the latter years of Bisping’s career, he was legally blind. As reported by Men’s Health, Bisping suffered a detached retina in a 2013 TKO loss to Vitor Belfort.
Bisping’s career lasted another four full years with him guessing on eye exams, wearing sunglasses, and fooling doctors in order to fight. He even went on a five-fight winning streak to win the UFC middleweight title during his 11 one-eyed fights. These fights included a win over former champion and legend Anderson Silva, as well as his title win over Rockhold.
He then defeated another legend in his only title defense against Dan Henderson.
It wasn’t until after his late 2017 retirement that Bisping started publicizing that he had only one working eye. He has taken out the fake eye on multiple podcasts, including “Steve-O’s Wild Ride” and on his own show with guest Luis J. Gomez.
“I think Karate Combat would be a good platform to come back if he did,” pro fighter T.J. Laramie told Blaze News. “Only three, three-minute rounds and all striking. Bisping has beat him with pretty much one eye in the past, so, it would be great to watch,” he added.
Bisping’s would-be opponent Rockhold has already competed and won in Karate Combat at an April 20, 2024, event.
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