Michael Bisping Questions Aspinall's Eye Injury, Says "Something Weird Is Going On"

Michael Bisping made waves with his comments on Tom Aspinall during the recent episode of his Believe You Me podcast. The UFC Hall of Famer criticized how Aspinall has dealt with the eye injury that’s ruled him out since UFC 321 last October. He questioned how his recovery timeline has compared to his own, and then hit listeners with a bombshell that nobody saw coming.

‘We used to have a real tight relationship, we used to share a room,’ Michael Bisping said. "We don’t talk these days." Bisping, who spent months defending Aspinall, is now saying they don't talk anymore.

Michael Bisping Says the Timeline Doesn't Add Up

Michael Bisping didn't accuse Aspinall of faking anything, but he made it clear that the lack of information bothers him.

"I've got to choose my words carefully here, but he just said he's still not cleared to fight," Bisping said on the podcast alongside Paul Felder,  "but he's been very vague with the details, very vague with the details. If I wasn't cleared, because he's got a YouTube channel, he posts content all the time, you'd talk about it."

Bisping then brought up his own eye, having famously lost vision in his right eye after a Vitor Belfort head kick during the TRT era. He had a scleral buckle surgery, which is an extremely invasive procedure, and still came back to fight in less time than Aspinall has been out.

"I had that surgery, recovered, came back and had a fight in a shorter amount of time than what it's taken this whole eye poke saga," Michael Bisping said. "I won't say it stinks, but I don't know. Look between the lines. There's something f*****g weird going on."

Michael Bisping Thinks Hearn Is Using Aspinall

Both Michael Bisping and Felder also went at Eddie Hearn, who signed Aspinall to his Matchroom Sport Agency back in March. Hearn has been publicly demanding that Dana White release Aspinall from his UFC contract, claiming the heavyweight champion is "grossly underpaid" and guaranteeing three to five times his current purse in boxing.

Bisping says Hearn is using Aspinall as a pawn in his personal beef with Dana White over the Zuffa Boxing/Conor Benn situation. Not actually looking out for the fighter's long-term MMA career.

"As an undefeated heavyweight champion, Tom would eventually be making $3 million to $5 million per fight anyway," Bisping argued. Leaving that for a one-off boxing payday is a gamble that might not pay off.

Hearn Told Michael Bisping to Be "Ashamed"

Eddie Hearn wasn't about to let that slide. At a press conference on Saturday, he went directly at Michael Bisping. 

"Bisping should be ashamed of himself because Bisping is a fighter," Hearn said. "I understand he's got to do as he's told, but there is no fighter in the world that can look at Tom Aspinall's position and think it is fair."

He called Michael Bisping a "company man" and challenged him to a live debate. Hearn compared the situation to boxing and said it would never happen in his sport because managers actually know what's in the pot and fighters get 80 percent of the revenue.

Aspinall's Teammate Thinks the UFC Put Bisping Up to It

Phil De Fries, who trains with Aspinall, added another layer to the whole thing. "I like Bisping, but he's a company man," De Fries said. He suspects the UFC told Bisping to put pressure on Aspinall publicly. Whether that's true or not, nobody knows, but the accusation is out there now and it makes the whole situation feel even messier.

Bisping went from being one of Aspinall's biggest defenders to questioning his transparency in public. Aspinall's camp thinks the UFC is behind it, Hearn is calling Bisping a puppet, and the heavyweight champion still hasn't been invited to watch the interim title fight at UFC Freedom 250 this Sunday. 

Whatever is actually going on behind the scenes, the friendship between Bisping and Aspinall is done.