Bisping would retire a few months after that encounter, which is a fight that he regretted accepting in the first place.
?Anderson Silva failed a steroid test and Kelvin Gastelum needed another opponent,? Bisping said to Submission Radio (via Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting). ?I was over-trained for GSP, and I was like, screw it, whatever, it is what it is, I?ll fly out there, get another payday. So, I went out there. So, listen, money?s one thing and legacy is another. You can?t buy a legacy. So, I do regret doing that Kelvin Gastelum fight, because I had no business doing that. I was over-trained. In fact, I didn?t train for that fight whatsoever. I was overtrained from the GSP one. Then I went on the piss for a couple of weeks, and then flew out to China with my mates, you know what I mean? He was training for the biggest fight of his life, I had already been choked out a couple of weeks ago. So, the conditions weren?t right. But there was a lot of money on the table, but I knew I was almost done. And for me, that?s why I got into this, I got into it to give my family a better life. And as I said, I won?t go into the actual number, but it was a big number, it was a huge number. And I?m like, alright, well I?ll go out and collect that, and I?ll fly out to China.?
That bout against Gastelum came exactly three weeks after a fight against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 217, which was the quickest turnaround of Bisping?s professional MMA career.
The retired fighter, who has had a history of eye issues, had thought he would go blind after the bout against Gastelum.
?I fight Georges St-Pierre, I lose that fight, and he knew I was blind in one eye ? he targeted it,? Bisping said. ?Then, I fly to Shanghai, couple of weeks later I fight Kelvin Gastelum, I get cracked, I think I?ve had a good run and that was that. And then we go to an after-party afterward, and I?m sitting there in this club, and every time I look this way, I get a flash of light. I was like, what was that? So I look again, another flash of light. And every time I look to the left, I would get a flash of light. And I started panicking because I?m thinking, holy s*it, I don?t believe this, I?ve got a detached retina in my good eye. And I started getting emotional, in a night club. I?ve had a couple of drinks, but I?m like, f*ck, I?m thinking I?m gonna go blind. It?s a long flight back to (Los Angeles), and I wake up halfway through and I look to my left, and there?s that flashing light. Holy sh*t, I?ve forgotten all about that. So when I land, I call my eye doctor straight away, and he?s like, ?Yeah, you need to go see someone.? I go in there ? and whenever I?m uncomfortable, I always use humor as kind of like a mask ? and I went in and I see this doctor and I say, ?Listen, doc, I think I?ve got a detached retina in my good eye.? And he said, ?Alright, well, let?s take a look, I?m gonna put some drops in you?re not gonna be able to see for a while.? And I make a joke, I say, ?Oh well, I guess I better get used to this view, ey?? And he says, ?Calm down, we?re not there just yet.? And I was like, ?We?re not f*cking there just yet? Jesus Christ.? I was freaking out. And anyway, turns out I had a vitreous detachment.?
Since retiring, fans have been able to see Bisping provide color commentary for a multitude of UFC events, while also hosting a podcast and occasionally acting in feature films.