Michael Bisping definitely needs a break.
Twice in November, ‘The Count’ was rendered unconscious by an opponent and he’s now been medically suspended for 60 days.
Bisping’s bravery was applauded by fight fans after he accepted a short-notice bout against Kelvin Gastelum just days after being choked out by Georges St-Pierre in the main event of UFC 217.
The returning GSP strangled Bisping into unconsciousness to claim the middleweight title on November 4 but the Brit was eager to return to the Octagon and, following Anderson Silva’s withdrawal from the main event of UFC Shanghai after testing positive for a banned substance, Bisping called up UFC President Dana White and demanded the Gastelum fight.
Woah.
Huuuuuuuge left hand from Kelvin Gastelum! 😱
Michael Bisping is finished for the second time in three weeks #UFCShanghai pic.twitter.com/jLyoChFT9F
— UFC on TNT Sports (@ufcontnt) November 25, 2017
With just a 21-day turnaround, Bisping headlined the UFC’s return to China at the weekend and it didn’t go too well for the Manchester-born middleweight.
A brutal first-round knockout defeat to Gastelum saw Bisping suffer back-to-back losses for the first time in his career and he’s since been medically suspended for 60 days, according to MixedMartialArts.com.
That means there’s no chance of the always game Bisping accepting another short-notice bout, although that was never too likely.
Bisping will, however, be available for his targeted retirement fight in London next March.
The TUF 3 winner is eager to hang up his gloves on UK soil and is aiming to headline UFC Fight Night 127 at the O2 Arena on March 17, 2018.
“There’s a fight card on in London. I would love to be on that,” Bisping recently said on the MMA Hour. “I would love to be a part of that to say thank you to the British people who supported me and have my last fight there.”
