Friday night (Sept. 27, 2013) saw the injury bug strike again.
News broke that Michael Bisping was forced out of his upcoming bout with Mark Munoz because of a serious eye injury. This forced the UFC to scramble for a suitable replacement which lead to Lyoto Machida being pulled from his Fight for the Troops bout with Tim Kennedy.
One event was saved while another lost a main event. And all the while, there really hasn't been much word out of the Bisping camp regarding the seriousness of the injury or surgery.
Gareth Davies from the Telegraph spoke with Bisping about the injury:
"I am devastated for everyone who bought tickets to see me fight Munoz. I am so sorry for the fans, I really am. I am disappointed for myself too, but my first thoughts are with the fans who have made sacrifices to come and see me in Manchester," said Bisping.
"I can only apologise to them, and to the UFC. I have been training so hard for this fight, that I just cannot believe I will not step into the Octagon in Manchester. But I promise my fans I will be back real soon."
"It will still be a great night for the UFC fight fans as Lyoto Machida will take my place. So go to the Phones4U Arena and still have a great time."
Davies also confirmed that the surgery was related to a detached retina that Bisping suffered in April and required a full removal of the eyeball to fix.
I hope that Bisping can return soon. He was knocking on the door for a title shot and finally seemed to have turned the corner in his career. However, his health is way more important and there is no reason to rush back if it means he'll be putting himself at risk.