British UFC legend Michael Bisping reveals secret "code" he relied on to cheat in pre-fight medical checks: "I just lied my a*s off"

Michael Bisping's eye has become part of UFC folklore, and he has now revealed how he used to cheat his way through pre-fight health exams to determine his readiness to fight. Despite having just one functioning eye, Bisping fought for years with suboptimal eyesight.

In a recent appearance on the JAXXON PODCAST, Bisping revealed the extent to which he would cheat to pass pre-fight health exams. While training camps were relatively easy, he was always riddled with anxiety when it came time for athletic commissions to determine whether his eyesight was functional.

"I just lied my a*s off in every test. Like, I even had a stupid little code, like me and [Jason] Parillo. You know, like, we would say... because I would pass the test somehow, but then, even on-site the commission, at the day of the weigh-ins, they want to check your vision, you know? And I was always terrified."

This code with Jason Parillo, his head coach, became fundamental to the Englishman passing his pre-fight eye test.

"So, anyway, me and Parillo had a thing where if the commission covered up my eye, and he would [cough] if it was one finger or [yawn] if it was two fingers, or whatever. We did that a couple of times."

Check out Michael Bisping detailing his pre-fight eye test routine (19:40 and 20:52):

The Englishman achieved legendary status for capturing the promotion's middleweight title with just one functioning eye, dethroning Luke Rockhold, who was part of the podcast, via first-round knockout.

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Michael Bisping's infamous eye damage occurred against Vitor Belfort

Back in 2013, Michael Bisping faced Vitor Belfort, who was on testosterone replacement therapy at the time, in a title eliminator at UFC on FX 7. Unfortunately, early in round two, the Brazilian dropped Bisping with a left head kick before TKO'ing him with follow-up ground-and-pound strikes.

The kick itself led to a retinal detachment in Bisping's right eye, from which he never recovered, with Bisping never forgiving Belfort.

Check out Michael Bisping's TKO loss to Vitor Belfort:

Due to his fear of being barred from competing, Bisping elected not to seek medical attention until his eye's condition worsened. By the time he underwent surgery, it was too late and he lost permanent vision in his right eye.