UFC Hall of Famer Michael Bisping will soon be joined in the wings by one of his fiercest rivals.
Michael Bisping and Vitor Belfort‘s careers will always be linked after their 2013 showdown in Sao Paulo. At UFC 315 earlier this month, the UFC announced Belfort’s addition to the promotion’s 2025 Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted during International Fight Week next month.
Belfort knocked out Bisping with a head kick in their Sao Paulo showdown, and Bisping blames Belfort for the vision issues he’s had since their clash. Bisping suffered a detached retina in the Belfort fight which led to strabismus, a condition in which the eyes aren’t properly aligned.
Belfort was under testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) during his fight with Bisping, adding a veil of controversy to the result. Years after their clash, Bisping remains adamant that Belfort cheated throughout his combat sports career in attempts to garner unfair advantages.
Michael Bisping gives surprising endorsement of Vitor Belfort’s UFC Hall of Fame induction
Despite Bisping’s long-held grudge towards Belfort, he believes the MMA pioneer is deserving of the upcoming induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.
In a recent interview with MMA Junkie, Bisping gave his unfiltered reaction to Belfort’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame.
“When you look at it and remove all the emotions from it, the man was the UFC heavyweight champion of the world at 19. He then became the light heavyweight champion. He almost became the middleweight champion. He’s the closest thing we’ve had to a three-weight champion,” Bisping said of Belfort.
“Was he a massive cheater? Of course. Did he take a lot of steroids? Of course. Were there a lot of other people doing that at the same time? Absolutely there was. I get it.
“I lost an eye because of this guy,” Bisping continued. “He can stick his Hall of Fame up his a–. But he does deserve it. You can’t deny what he did inside the octagon. You just can’t deny it. If that’s not a Hall of Fame career, I don’t know what is. Whether you like it or not, he deserves it.”
Belfort retired from MMA after a front kick knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 224. He won the UFC 12 heavyweight tournament at 19 years old, defeating Scott Ferrozzo and Tra Telligman to become the promotion’s first heavyweight champ.
Bisping entered the UFC Hall of Fame in 2019, just two years after losing the UFC middleweight title to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 217. Since retiring from MMA, Bisping has become one of the UFC’s top television analysts.
Michael Bisping pushes Kamaru Usman to retire if he loses at UFC Atlanta
At UFC Atlanta next month, another legendary fighter could hang up the gloves. Former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman returns in the UFC Atlanta main event against Joaquin Buckley, after suffering three consecutive losses.
Just a few years removed from sitting near the top of the UFC’s pound-for-pound list, Usman is in a must-win situation at UFC Atlanta. If Usman loses, Bisping wants him to walk away from fighting and conclude what’s been a legendary run in the cage.
Usman suffered a come-from-behind knockout loss to Leon Edwards at UFC 278, before losing in their immediate rematch just months later at UFC 286. Usman returned at UFC 294, losing a short-notice middleweight bout against Khamzat Chimaev.