UPDATED: Michael Bisping Receives Good News, Fight With Tim Kennedy Should Proceed As Planned
Michael Bisping is set to square off against long-time rival Tim Kennedy at the finals of The Ultimate Fighter: Nations, this April, although the Brit is yet to be medically cleared from his year-old eye injury. ‘The Count’ has been sidelined with a detatched retina since his April 2013 match with Alan Belcher, although it turned out that he may have sustained it during his training camp for UFC 159. A cataract on the same eye only added to Bisping’s woes.
Bisping was scheduled to see a UFC eye doctor last week, to hopefully get the all-clear for his upcoming bout with Kennedy. Now it appears that the match may be put on hold, as the brash Brit is yet to be cleared. Check out what Ariel Helwani posted on his twitter last night:
Michael Bisping’s eye tests last week were inconclusive. Apparently, they didn’t have the proper machinery. His future’s still up in the air
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) January 30, 2014
This is not good news for ‘The Count’, if he is unable to get medical clearance to return to fighting it could mean over 12 months, or more, out of competition. UFC doctors were hoping to gauge Bisping’s depth perception and peripheral vision, as a slight problem with either of these would render him unable to compete.
This is by no means a small matter, as a failed test here could well mean the end of Bisping’s long and storied UFC/MMA career. Although he has proven to be irritating at times, Bisping has started to grow on fans. I wish him the best of luck and hope he can return to action soon.
Update:
It looks like Bisping got the results he wanted, and will indeed square off against Tim Kennedy in April. ‘The Count’ took to twitter to reveal his big news:
Got some good news today!!!!!!…… Can you guess what it is?. Let’s just say I’m gonna step my training up
