EXCLUSIVE | Michael Bisping Reveals Lawsuit With Ex-Manager Has Been Dismissed
Former UFC middleweight champion, Michael Bisping has revealed that his longstanding lawsuit with an ex-management firm of his has been officially dismissed, claiming that one of the main reasons he had continued fighting through his well-documented eye injury, was in order to fight the court case.
Bisping, a UFC Hall of Fame inductee and a current color commentator for the organization, last competed professionally back in November 2017, suffering a short notice first round knockout loss to Kelvin Gastelum.
The Manchester native was expected to feature at a UFC Fight Night London event the following year in a potential rematch against former light heavyweight champion, Rashad Evans, however, issues with his right eye and then growing concern for the status of his left eye forced him to call time on his career with immediate effect instead.
Bisping’s eye injury has been well-documented since his retirement from the sport, with the Hall of Famer actually utilizing – and removing a glass eye during his day-to-day life.
Michael Bisping made his pay-per-view color commentator debut at UFC 271 in February.
Bisping had suffered a retinal detachment in his right eye during his January 2013 main event against former light heavyweight titleholder, Vitor Belfort – courtesy of a high-kick finish. And since then, issues have piled up for the former champion.
Speaking with LowKick MMA reporter, Jordan Ellis during a press tour for the upcoming release of his documentary, The Michael Bisping Story – Bisping revealed that he had continued fighting through his eye injury and severe pain in order to contest a court case and lawsuit, which he subsequently revealed has now been dismissed officially.
“It was a bit of everything, to be honest,” Michael Bisping replied when asked what his motivation was to continue fighting despite his eye injury. “But the reality was, we (family) had just made the move to California – prior to the eye injury, things were going well, you know. So we bought this big, stupid house that we don’t need, right.”
“And then I had a fictitious, totally fabricated lawsuit from a former manager that was trying to take me to the cleaners, because, you know, they’re just crooks and wanted to steal all my money,” Michael Bisping said. “By the way, I just won that lawsuit, that got totally dismissed and they owe me a tonne of legal fees, so pay up. I was fighting this lawsuit, and the way it goes is, if someone is suing you, you have to defend it, or you lose, you know. That’s very, very expensive.”
A former undisputed middleweight champion, Bisping scored a shocking upset win over former champion, Luke Rockhold in a short notice rematch at UFC 199, before avenging a knockout loss to Dan Henderson with a UFC 204 main event title defense.
