Michael Bisping, the first and so far only Briton to win a UFC title, has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts after a distinguished career.
Bisping made history in June 2016 by wrenching the UFC middleweight crown from Luke Rockhold with a stunning first-round knockout in a seismic upset victory after being given only 17 days' notice.
He made one defence of the belt, overcoming Dan Henderson by decision, before being beaten by Georges St-Pierre last November while he was brutally knocked out by Kelvin Gastelum in the same month.
Michael Bisping true pioneers of mixed martial arts but it was the right time to call it a day +4
Britain's Michael Bisping has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts
The loss to Gastelum proved to be the final bout for Bisping, who said on his 'Believe You Me' podcast: "I've teased this for a long time now - I might fight again, I might not - and unfortunately it's not a fight that I'm announcing, I am going to announce my official retirement from mixed martial arts.
"It's been a long journey. I started training in 2003 so 15 years as a professional fighter and 12 or 13 years in the UFC. You can't do it forever, I've done it for a long time."
Nicknamed 'The Count', Bisping finishes with a record of 30 victories and nine defeats in MMA and holds the joint records for the most UFC fights (29) and wins in the company (20).
Bisping made history in June 2016 by wrenching the UFC middleweight crown from Luke Rockhold with a stunning first-round knockout in a seismic upset victory after being given only 17 days' notice.
He made one defence of the belt, overcoming Dan Henderson by decision, before being beaten by Georges St-Pierre last November while he was brutally knocked out by Kelvin Gastelum in the same month.
Michael Bisping true pioneers of mixed martial arts but it was the right time to call it a day +4
Britain's Michael Bisping has announced his retirement from mixed martial arts
"It's been a long journey. I started training in 2003 so 15 years as a professional fighter and 12 or 13 years in the UFC. You can't do it forever, I've done it for a long time."
Nicknamed 'The Count', Bisping finishes with a record of 30 victories and nine defeats in MMA and holds the joint records for the most UFC fights (29) and wins in the company (20).
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