Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has drawn comparisons between his own career-threatening eye problems and the issues that ultimately forced Tom Aspinall to vacate the UFC heavyweight championship.
Aspinall announced that he was relinquishing his title after ongoing problems stemming from the eye pokes he suffered during his fight against Ciryl Gane last year. Bisping, who lost vision in one eye following complications from an injury suffered during his 2013 bout with Vitor Belfort, discussed Aspinall’s situation on his YouTube channel.
While Bisping understands the seriousness of Aspinall’s condition, he stressed that the circumstances surrounding their respective eye injuries are significantly different.
“Well, I did, but they're not the same thing. I wasn't in a fight and then lost the vision in one eye, okay, and then chose to carry on fighting. No, it was a completely different set of circumstances,” Bisping said.
Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping has drawn comparisons between his own career-threatening eye problems and the issues that ultimately forced Tom Aspinall to vacate the UFC heavyweight championship.
Aspinall was poked in the eye twice during his bout with Gane, and Bisping said he does not believe the French heavyweight intentionally targeted his opponent’s eyes.
“Tom was double poked in the eye. I still give Ciryl Gane the benefit of the doubt. I don't think fighters purposely are looking to poke people in the eye, it just happens with those type of gloves, right?” Bisping said.
The former champion also suggested that Aspinall’s situation raises broader questions about the UFC’s gloves and how officials handle eye pokes during fights.
“There's a whole other conversation to have about the gloves and the officials (about) eye poking and deducting points and all the rest of it. That's a completely different situation and a different conversation for another time,” Bisping said.
Bisping’s own eye problems began after his loss to Belfort in 2013. Although he ultimately continued his career, complications from the injury eventually resulted in him losing vision in the affected eye.
“For me, I lost (my) fight fair and square to Vitor Belfort (even though he was juiced out of his mind),” Bisping said.
Bisping explained that he returned to training too quickly following the fight, leading to further complications with his eye.
“I detached my retina, I rushed back to training too quick - you've heard all this a million times so I'll just be very brief - I rushed back to training and sparring very hard, my retina re-detached I then got glaucoma which was terrible it was so painful.”
