Michael Bisping has detailed the mental turmoil he suffered ahead of medical tests in the UFC, with the warrior concerned his eye problems could keep him from fighting.
With this in mind, he devised a plan to try to limit this possibility.
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Michael Bisping explains the code Jason Parillo came up with to try to pass eye tests
Throughout his career, Michael Bisping has cemented his position as one of the fiercest competitors of all time, with a willingness to do whatever it took to secure victory.
But he was respected not only for getting back up after being knocked down and wiping away the blood to continue trading big shots, but also for winning the UFC middleweight title with just one eye.
When a head kick from Vitor Belfort made contact, the Englishman's retina detached, leaving him with no vision in his right eye.
This had major consequences for 'De Graaf', who was constantly afraid that the medical experts would not let him fight.
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During an episode of the JAXXON Podcast he said: “Even on site, on the day of the weigh-in, the committee wants to check your vision. I was always terrified because I didn't have this (fake eye) at the time, that was just a few years ago.
“My eye looked terrible; it looks even worse now. Then it looked a little better, but from the eye you could clearly see that it was not healthy.
“With the doctors, I would think all they have to do is cover that eye and say, 'How many fingers?' And then I'm damned.
“So every training camp, the fight was the easy part because I was always terrified of spending all this money on training camp. I'm putting all my effort into it, I'm going to fly to wherever it is. and the day before I get pulled out of the fight, so the stress was high.
'When I got past the weigh-ins it was a relief. Now I know I can fight, now I'm happy. All I have to do is go out there and fight.
“Me and Jason Parillo had a thing. If he covers the eye, “cough for one finger, yawn for two fingers.” To be honest, they've never done that before. They just said, 'Can you see with that eye?' I would say: 'Yes'. And then they said, 'Okay'.”
😲🫡Michael Bisping talks about the stress of passing his eye test during fight week. He shares how he and coach Jason Parillo used code words to navigate the test:
“I would think all they (doctors) have to do is cover that eye and say how many fingers, and then I'm… pic.twitter.com/LvsmcGfRgt
– House of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) January 3, 2025
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Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold finally reveal what happened during their spar
During the podcast, Bisping sat next to his old rival Luke Rockhold, with the pair getting along significantly better than in years past.
The pair shared two high-profile fights, with the American winning the first via submission, before his nemesis got his back by knocking him unconscious with a left hook to claim the 185lb throne.
But before they ever shared the octagon, they first took part in a heated spar, with the icons now explaining what really happened that day.
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