Former UFC champion of the world, commentator, actor and the highly motivational Michael Bisping’s life is no less than a thriller. From working odd jobs to becoming a top MMA fighter with an enviable record of 30-9-0 (W-L-D), and navigating a debilitating eye injury, it’s been a journey of resilience and never letting go of the sight of the goal. In an exclusive chat with t2, Michael opened up about his life, career, working with Deepika Padukone and more. Oh, yes, his favourite is Indian food!
Is it true that you have worked in factories, demolition companies, as a salesman and more, like, all kinds of jobs?
Oh yeah, yeah... all terrible jobs. (Laughs) I am joking! I left school at 16 and didn’t know what I wanted to do so I tried a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Didn’t enjoy any of it mainly because I wasn’t very good at them if I am being honest and then fortunately, when I was a kid, I did a lot of martial arts training and I was very good at martial arts. Fortunately, the UFC was growing and growing and growing and I looked at that as a career path for me. So, in the end, I found my love and passion and made it work.
Are you an adventurer in life?
Oh, absolutely 100 per cent. I’ll try anything once and yeah, even since I have retired from fighting, which has been a few years now, I have always tried new career paths and do a little bit of acting and hosting TV shows... you’ve got to do it. That’s what life is all about, right? New experiences and evolving as a person all along. When I was younger, (I did) many different jobs, but they made me the man I am today.
What has been the most unique job for you?
I think fighting in my underpants in front of millions of people. (Laughs) That was a crazy one, but outside of that, I remember, I worked at an abattoir, a slaughterhouse. When I started that, my job was to mop all the blood into drains and I said to the supervisor one day that I could be of more use to him than this. He said, ‘Let me think about it’. After I came back from break, he said he would make me an apprentice slaughterman. I was like: ‘Oh my god! This is not what I had in mind!’ and all of a sudden, I was getting trained on how to slaughter 500 cows and 200 lambs. I did that for a couple of weeks and realised I was done.
Is the fighter in you always looking for new challenges?
Yeah, you have to challenge yourself in life because that is how you grow and if there’s something that is a challenge, sometimes it can be daunting and nerve-wracking but ultimately, if you overcome those challenges, that makes it even more satisfying. I never want to give up. I have a book, a bestseller called Quitters Never Win and if you don’t even try, then how are you even going to quit? Life is always going to throw challenges at you. Life is hard for a lot of people. You can’t give up on yourself ultimately because you are just trying to be the best version of yourself possible, trying to look after your family. When you give up, that’s when things start to go bad.
What has your career taught you about life?
You gotta dream and you gotta dream big. A lot of people, if they hear you dream, they will laugh and scoff at you, but it’s better to have a dream than not having one. I believe everybody has the skill and everyone on this planet is good at something. The hard part is figuring out what that is and you do a lot of soul-searching. Once you figure out what that skill is, then you think how can you take this skill to the farthest place it can take you to? You figure out a path and a plan. But then you’ve got to do the hard work, start at the bottom and work your way up.... If I can do it, anybody can do it.
How did MMA happen to you?
When I was a kid, I really enjoyed martial arts movies, and loved Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee. My older brother was going to a Japanese ju-jitsu dojo. So, I followed him along and found out something that I was good at. I was never good at sports, like football or cricket. I didn’t have many friends and was very unpopular, but at the dojo, I found somewhere that I belonged and I did many tournaments and won most, I am proud to say.
At that time, being a martial artiste was not a way to make a living. When I was about 17, I stopped doing that and started working, but when I was 22-23, I met someone who is now my wife (Rebecca Bisping) and we have children. I was still doing different odd jobs but not making much money. We were absolutely broke and times were hard. The UFC was kind of blowing up and I didn’t even know what it was. I spoke to an old sensei and he told me what it was and he told me I would be good at it. He said he would train me. So, a month later, I quit work and moved to another city and three months later, I had my first professional fight and that was the beginning of what turned out to be a pretty decent career.
And, you’ve always come back to it... a kind of true love...
I wanted to become a champion of the world not for my ego, but by being the champion of the world, you are going to make the most money and I can give my family the best life possible and I always believed that I could do that and along the way, I lost many fights, but never stopped believing in myself.
Was it also a journey of acceptance?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, because at the time, I wasn’t sure. You spoke about challenges before. I didn’t know. I didn’t even know what the sport was. I didn’t follow it and wasn’t a fan. To me, it was an opportunity to make money for my family. Wrestling is a big part of the sports. In the UK, we don’t wrestle. So, that was very hard for me. You win fights in the regional scene and all of a sudden, you are in the UFC and you are fighting the best fighters on planet earth. It’s a big step. There was a lot of doubt and fear of not being successful. But as I said before, that’s what makes it fun, overcoming those obstacles, and proving to yourself that you can do it.
How have you dealt with your eye injury (Bisping wears a prosthetic eye) and kept yourself motivated and emerged stronger?
I had a young family, a wife, and three children and we moved to America and bought this house that we couldn’t afford and then all of a sudden, I get this eye injury, a detached retina, then it got re-detached and then I got glaucoma. You are not supposed to fight, but I kept it a secret. Otherwise, I would have had to go back, with my tail between my legs and then find a job and it all would have been a failure. I wanted to give my family a better life and I was still trying to fight with one eye, knowing I could risk going blind. It was still worth it for me and I still wanted to be the champion of the world. Somehow I made it work.
What makes a champion and how have you prepared yourself to be ready, mind, body and soul?
The main thing is the mind and the heart. Everything else, you can teach. If the mind isn’t right, it doesn’t matter how talented you are. The fights are hard and training for a fight is even harder... when I lived in England and it’s freezing cold, it’s pouring and you go into the gym, there’s no crowd and no one’s cheering for you and every day you are sore. A lot of people get lazy, but how badly do you want it and how much are you willing to push yourself....
Michael Bisping starred in xXx: Return of Xander Cage which also featured Deepika Padukone
Do you still train every day?
I have a gym at home and I don’t go to a dojo very often any more, but I still do a little bit of ju-jitsu and kickboxing and I train with a couple of people who come to my house. I run every day, lift weights, stretch, sauna, and sit in an ice bath. Every day I do about two hours of working out in the morning and to be honest, it’s the best part of my day. That’s my little alone time and peacetime.
Has post-retirement life been busier for you?
I am busy now than I ever have been. I love to be busy. I love mixed martial arts. So, I am still involved with the sport. I do my podcast and my YouTube channel, a bit of acting, UFC gyms and my partners are from India and we are putting up 120 UFC gyms all over the UK.
You have worked with Deepika Padukone in xXx: Return of Xander Cage...
She was an absolute sweetheart. I still have the gift she gave me, a nice tie. She is obviously a very talented actress and the nicest, kindest, warmest person....
You have Red Sonja and Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (with Gerard Butler) coming up...
Red Sonja is my biggest role to date. I play a barbarian and towards the end, it reveals that I have a heart.
Sony Sports Network recently extended its broadcast rights deal with UFC till 2028