Michael Bisping says he was almost robbed and could have been killed in Cape Town

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping had a harrowing experience during his stay in Cape Town, South Africa. In the most recent episode of…

By: Milan Ordoñez | 4 years ago
Michael Bisping says he was almost robbed and could have been killed in Cape Town
Bloody Elbow 2.0 | Anton Tabuena

Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping had a harrowing experience during his stay in Cape Town, South Africa. In the most recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast, the recent Hall of Fame inductee recounted the entire story which happened late last week.

“We go out for a Chinese meal, [I] don’t like Chinese but whatever…” Bisping said (transcript by BJPenn.com). “We end up having a few drinks. I get back, it’s like three o clock in the morning and the Uber driver drops me off at a four-way cross street not by my hotel, and he says ‘your hotel is over there’, so I get out the car and the Uber driver drives off and I don’t know which way to go.

“All the while, I may have been stumbling slightly, and staring at my phone which is a giveaway, I’m on my apps,” he continued. “I’m stumbling around a little bit and all of a sudden low and behold, the freaks came out, the thieves came out, the muggers, the nasty f—king criminal bastards.

“Before I knew it, I was surrounded by 10 to 15 homeless people begging for money and then they started getting kind of nasty.”

Bisping says he immediately became aware of the situation as he went on the defensive.

“At this point now, because my defenses are up, I’m trying to be big, just like a lion in the jungle puffs out his mane… I’m puffing out my chest and I’m trying to look as scary as possible so these motherfuckers don’t make a move.”

“If you want to go home, give me your wallet,” he recalls being told by one of his assailants.

Things only worsened when two more men showed up urging Bisping to get in a car. It was at this point when he felt a threat to his life.

“If I get in this car, I’m a dead man, simple as that because they are gonna kill me or rob me and leave me for dead,” he said. “I’m backing up, there was a little opening and I just f—king ran. They didn’t chase much, and I ran down the street and low and behold there was my f—king hotel.”

“You motherf—kers, don’t ever tell me this town is not dangerous.”

Bisping was almost in the exact situation during a 2017 family trip to Hawaii, where he was robbed twice and nearly drowned during a paddleboard adventure.

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Milan Ordoñez
Milan Ordoñez

Milan Ordoñez has been covering combat sports since 2012 and has been part of the Bloody Elbow staff since 2016. He’s also competed in amateur mixed martial arts and submission grappling tournaments.

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