UFC middleweight Michael Bisping seemingly gets called out by a new fighter every day, but all of those potential opponents are going to have to wait a few months before he can return after having eye surgery recently.
Bisping last fought at UFC 159 in April, where he defeated Alan Belcher by decision. The fight ended after Belcher was accidentally poked in the eye in the third round and could not continue.
Oddly enough, it was Bisping who actually ended up losing some of his vision after the bout was over. According to a report by UFC Tonight’s Ariel Helwani on Tuesday, Bisping lost peripheral vision in his right eye after the fight with Belcher and eventually made his way to the doctor for a diagnosis.
Bisping was dealing with a detached retina that required surgery and underwent the successful procedure on Thursday.
He is expected to be ready for a return to the Octagon by October.
As far as potential opponents, it seems every middleweight wants to fight Bisping next, but only a couple of names actually interest the former Ultimate Fighter winner.
The one at the top of the list is former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le, who most recently knocked out former UFC middleweight titleholder Rich Franklin in 2012.
Le, who has been working on his film career while waiting for his injured elbows to heal, could be the right name to interest Bisping when he gets back in action later this year.
If that fight isn’t made available, Bisping would also potentially be interested in a fight with top-10 middleweight Costa Philippou. However, he admittedly doesn’t have the same marquee name value that Le does.
Philippou recently told Bleacher Report that he was targeting a showdown with Bisping if the brash Brit was willing to meet him in the cage.
Ultimately, Bisping, Le and Philippou will all leave the final decision up to the UFC and matchmaker Joe Silva, who will make the final call on which middleweight matchup actually takes place later this year.
For now, Bisping will continue to recover and let his eye heal until he can get back in action.
Damon Martin is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report.
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