Michael Bisping: Former UFC star looks back on remarkable career in new documentary

As Michael Bisping walks into the room for this interview, he spills a cup of coffee on the floor.

For most, it would be an innocuous incident. For Bisping, there is a life-changing, career-defining reason behind the spillage — he is blind in one eye.

The remarkable story of how the 43-year-old lost the vision in his right eye yet still went on to become the first British UFC champion in history is told in a new documentary.

Here, Bisping talks to BBC Sport about the emotional turmoil he experienced as a fighter, the steep barriers he overcame to reach the top, and how it felt watching a film about his career.

When Bisping agreed to fight Vitor Belfort in 2013, he knew beating the Brazilian could lead to his first UFC world title fight.

What he didn't know was the bout would be the last time he stepped inside the octagon with vision in both eyes.

In the second round, Belfort landed a fight-ending head kick which led to a detached retina on Bisping's right side.

He initially dealt with the injury privately — fearing medical professionals would prevent him fighting — and three months later beat Alan Belcher by a technical unanimous decision.

By then, though, his symptoms had worsened to the extent he couldn't put off seeing a doctor any longer.

Six surgeries later, his vision remained irreparable and his fight career appeared to be over.

«The mental side was by far the hardest part,» says Bisping.

«I'd just moved out to America. Things were going well living this new life in California, but we weren't financially secure and it all got taken away.

»I went through depression and feeling sorry for myself and drinking too much because I couldn't do anything. My entire identity had been taken away."

Despite the loss of vision, decline in