Michael Bisping is not buying that Ben Askren retired from the sport of mixed martial arts due to his need for a hip replacement.
The former UFC middleweight champion discussed Askren’s recently announced retirement on his most recent edition of the ‘Believe You Me’ podcast where he insinuated that hip replacement is not career-ending surgery, unless you want it to be.
“Anyone out there, you ask any doctor, they will tell you, hip replacement/knee replacement, not even in the same category… not even anywhere close in the same category as recovery, rehab, pain endured through said process,” Michael Bisping said (via MMANews). “Any doctor will tell you. People are coming up to me going, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s right. I had a hip replacement,’ and I just want to go, ‘Ohhh, don’t talk to me about your hip replacement, OK? I had a knee replacement, knee replacement!
“Hip replacement is nothing. I scoff at a hip replacement. I laugh at a hip replacement. I have no sympathy. Quick operation. My mom recovered from one, no problem. My dad had one, doesn’t even mention it.”
Ben Askren went 1-2 under the UFC banner, scoring a controversial submission win over Robbie Lawler in his Octagon debut before being knockout out and then submitted by opponents Jorge Masvidal and Demian Maia.
Just days after being submitted by Maia at UFC Singapore, Askren would announced his retirement from the sport on The Helwani Show.
“It’s probably a good idea if he’s retiring because my mom has stronger hips than Ben Askren,” Michael Bisping continued. “Simple as that. My old, frail, flailing mother has stronger hips, can sprawl better than Ben Askren.”
“I’m a big fan of the guy. I’d like to still see him fight. I’m sure he could earn some money. But I think from a competitive standpoint, he came over and it wasn’t a good year. And he’s like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna move on,’” Bisping concluded.
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This article first appeared on BJPENN.com November 23, 2019