Michael Bisping 'takes eye out' as he and Shara 'Bullet' Magomedov bond over fighting with the same disability
01/30/2025 04:20 AM
Michael Bisping removed his fake eye in an effort to closer bond with Shara ‘Bullet’ Magomedov during a recent interview.
The top middleweight contender has often cited his division’s former champion as his inspiration for fighting despite suffering from an injury that blinded him in one eye. And as he prepares tp face Bisping’s countryman Michael ‘Venom’ Page in Riyadh on Saturday night, the pair united for a chat.
Bisping often wears a cover that shields his right eye and looks similar to what his might have looked like before he was injured. But he removed the ‘fake eye’ in order to better bond with Magomedov, who wears his injury with pride as part of his ‘Pirate’ gimmick.
Michael Bisping and Shara Magomedov bond in wholesome interview
Michael Bisping is commentating on Saturday night’s fight between Shara Magomedov and Michael ‘Venom’ Page, and met with both men for pre-fight interviews this week. Fans were excited to see him spend time with the Dagestan native, given that they are both blind in one eye.
Bisping was blinded during a 2013 fight with Vitor Belfort in Sao Paolo, and had to go on to fake his way through tests in order to trick doctors into clearing him to fight. Magomedov suffered a similar fate years before making the UFC, and has since only fought in the Middle East away from American commissions.
The pair came face-to-face on the former champion’s YouTube channel and immediately seemed to bond over their common issue. They embraced towards the end as Bisping even removed his eye cover to better resemble Magomedov and brand the pair ‘brothers’.
He asked the Russian if he ever considered getting a similar cover that might help his aesthetics, but Magomedov shot down the idea. “It doesn’t matter,” Bisping continued. “You look good, you own it. I’m a p****, everybody was bullying me online, saying mean things that hurt my feelings so I tried to hide it.”
Shara Magomedov details how Michael Bisping inspired him to fight through life-changing injury
Magomedov admitted to Bisping that there were even times he considered hanging up his gloves due to his injury. But after seeing someone with the same ailment fight on in that condition and become world champion, he was inspired to continue.
“It’s incredible, man, what you’ve achieved so far,” Bisping told Magomedov during a sweet exchange towards the end of their chat. “I know what you’re going to do in the future and you should be very proud, I’m inspired by you, I really am and I truly mean that.”
“You are a legend,” Magomedov said in a rare emotional moment. “Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I probably would have stopped fighting.”
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