Graphic Warning
Eye opener
Former UFC champion Michael Bisping takes out eye live on talkSPORT leaving hosts Simon Jordan and Jim White stunned
DISCLAIMER: The following story contains graphic imagery
Michael Bisping gave talkSPORT listeners a bit more than they bargained for when he removed his eye live in the studio.
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The former UFC middleweight champion left co-hosts Simon Jordan and Jim White gobsmacked as well as former Premier League manager Neil Warnock, who was alongside them.
Bisping, 43, has had one eye for a number of years, the result of an injury sustained in a fight against Vitor Belfort in 2013.
‘The Count‘ began to experience severe pain and was forced to undergo several extensive and painful surgeries in order to rectify the issue.
He was forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with Mark Munoz at UFC Fight Night 30 in the same year after having the eyeball completely removed in an attempt to alleviate the pain.
As the visits to the doctor’s became more regular, UFC president Dana White consulted with the physicians and even told Bisping he would be unable to fight again.
But he defied the odds and several years later, returned to the octagon, winning the world title in 2016 beating Luke Rockhold at UFC 199, before eventually retiring from the sport in 2018.
Appearing on White and Jordan, the Hall of Famer was keen to show the extent of the damage Belfort caused him.
Unfortunately for him, he was unaware the broadcast was being streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
"It's radio so you can't see, its PG," Bisping said.
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In typical Jordan fashion, he produced a quick witted comment after witnessing the act.
"It was eye opening," the former Crystal Palace chairman said.
Bisping also revealed the UFC president told him on many occasions that his career was over.
"Oh yeah, many times, many times," he added.
"I still wanted to fight, well I still had to fight.
"At that point I hadn't achieved what I wanted to achieve through my fight career which was financial stability for my family.
"And I hadn't opened any other doors.
"I guess in hindsight it was a blessing in disguise because my fight career was going to be over at any moment, so I started doing whatever I could to open other doors, doing other things outside of fighting.
"But I managed to continue for about five or six years like this.
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'The Count' also revealed his remarkable rise to the top of mixed martial arts by winning UFC reality show The Ultimate Fighter.
"I wasn't even aware that it existed to be honest," he said when White asked him about how his career in MMA's premier promotion began.
"I just wanted to do something with my life and I had an extensive martial arts background, and unfortunately because I was getting into a few scraps, I knew I could fight.
"And somebody told me about the UFC, and as I said, 'never heard of it'.
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"And they said, 'listen [it's] out in the [United] States, there's champions, bona fide celebrities, they're making movies, they're making good money' and I was like, 'I'll have a bit of that'.
"So I started training, I went 10-0 in the UK, and then they had a reality TV show which is kind of like Big Brother where 16 fighters live in a house in Las Vegas, no contact with the outside world, it's called The Ultimate Fighter.
"So they came to England and had some auditions, I got the part on that, went out to Las Vegas, won the entire thing, and ended up in the UFC, and the rest is history.
"Many injuries, no knees, one eye, and a lot of brain damage later, here we are!"
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