EXCLUSIVE | Michael Bisping Defends Doctor In RDA-Moicano Non-Stoppage
Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping has defended the Octagon-side doctor’s decision to allow Renato Moicano to continue despite a nasty cut surrounding his eye at UFC 272 last weekend against Rafael dos Anjos, but maintains the former’s corner should have saved the lightweight contender from further punishment.
Replacing a COVID-19 stricken Rafael Fiziev on just four days notice last week, Moicano travelled from his native Brazil to tackle former undisputed lightweight champion, dos Anjos in a five round, 160lb catchweight bout – co-headlining UFC 272.
From the second round onward, however, Moicano’s pace began to falter as dos Anjos imposed a wrestling and grappling-heavy gameplan, as well as scoring a notable left high kick in the third round, wobbling and eventually dropping his compatriot.
Michael Bisping suffered a well-documented eye injury in his 2013 clash with Vitor Belfort
Allowed to continue until the final buzzer despite multiple warnings from referee, Marc Goddard – Moicano was also assessed by an Octagon-side physician, who elected that the lightweight was fit to continue, despite notable cuts surrounding his eye.
In the aftermath, the on-duty doctor received some notable criticizm for his decision to allow Moicano to continue into the fifth round despite the visible damage to his face, however, the aforenoted, Bisping defended the physician – and echoed his disappointment with Moicano’s corner for allowing him to continue rather than throwing in the towel.
“Neither you nor I am medically trained, you know what I mean,” Michael Bisping told LowKick MMA reporter, Jordan Ellis, during a recent interview to promote his documentary, This Is Michael Bisping. “So while the fighters – well, while (Renato) Moicano, specifically – it looks bad on the outside, you know what I mean. But it always does. They’re covered in blood, you clean it up and there’s a little nick there. Our heart rate is going up so it’s all pumping – and yes, that (Moicano’s eye) was swollen shut, and it certainly looked nasty.”
“I called for his (Moicano’s) corner to stop the fight, but he’s (the doctor) a medically trained professional, that has been around the fight game for a long time. He’s under no pressure from the UFC for the fights to continue. He knows, whether or not – he’s done it many times. Many, many times has he said, ‘Nah, I’ve gotta stop this fight’. You hear about it. On that occasion, he allowed the fight to continue. It’s not his fight to say, is he gonna win this fight, or is he gonna lose this fight? That’s his cornermen or the fighter in question. That’s their job to say, you’re never going to win this fight, so we might as well stop this now. …”
