"I've loved every minute of it and I've lived my dream," he told Davies. Bisping has advice for young fighters. "Anybody listening, any aspiring fighters - wear your head gear. I do now. I never spar without it now but all my life I never wore head gear. I was macho, I said I didn't need it, I don't get hit, I'm tough, I'm elusive, I've got good head movement, I'm fast and plus, I can take a punch... so who cares? But it's the years of sparring with no head gear thats ultimately led to this [the eye injury]. I'm positive of that."

It limits visibility but headgear is worth it.

My doc told me a few years ago(after my fifth concussion), "no more punches to the head". He gave me a speech about quarterbacks in the NFL and how it's not one shot, but an accumulation of shots over the years.

Good advice.

I've talked to some martial artists about this. A lot of them only wear a helmet a few weeks before a fight so they don't get hurt before their fight.