Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping is not really known for mincing his words. The 43-year-old has always been an outspoken personality, more so now with his own podcast on YouTube. Bisping, now retired, took to Facebook recently to point out the dangers of combat sports and used the opportunity to also criticize the current fad of influencer boxing. He talked about the sad demise of a South African boxer last year as a point to support his claim.

This particular boxer, Simiso Buthelezi had passed away after he got disorientated during his fight. The official records stated that the death was due to internal bleeding in the brain.

Michael Bisping reacts to the death of South African boxer Simiso Buthelezi

Bisping starts the video by talking about Simiso Buthelezi and the tragic video of his last fight. The video of the fight was shared innumerable times on the internet, showing the boxer getting disoriented after dominating his opponent. As his opponent gets up, Buthelezi is seen walking toward a corner and throwing punches in the air, much to the confusion of everyone.

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“A boxer in south Africa sadly passed away. Simiso Buthelezi, I hope I’m saying his name correctly. A south African boxer fighting for a local title, in the 10th round actually knocked his opponent through the ropes… Then turned around and started shadowboxing, fighting an invisible opponent. Clearly an issue with this man and his brain not working correctly. And as I say sadly, he went to the hospital and passed away. He had bleeding in the brain.” stated Bisping.

Bisping narrates the whole thing in his own words while pointing out a very grisly statistic: “And as we know, fighting is a very very tough sport. In MMA, according to bleacher report, one death per year, compared to boxing sadly, 11 deaths per year”

Bisping on influencer boxing and how combat sports are not for everybody

Eventually, the UFC legend brought up the topic of influencer boxing. Not surprising, since Jake Paul and co have been able to market themselves as boxers, which Bisping might not be a fan of.

“A lot of people now they want to do it. We are seeing all kinds of celebrities want to box. We are seeing strong men, no offense to them. They are trying to fight. They are trying to box. We got YouTubers for crying out loud.” exclaimed Bisping, in a way of displaying his disdain for that genre of combat sports.

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What Bisping wanted to state was that combat sports required more than just a wish for glory and that fighters needed certain traits to be successful. He pointed out his upbringing as an example. “It’s not for everybody. You have to be cut from a certain type of cloth.” The 43-year-old continues: “When I was younger, I feel I was born as a fighter. Granted, my environment as a child kind of shaped that. I was often getting into street fights. There was violence in my house.”

For someone as experienced as Bisping, these words are surely something that upcoming combat athletes can take heed from. While Simiso Buthelezi’s demise was definitely heartbreaking; it won’t be the last time that a fighter passes away in the ring. What could help prevent these incidents would be an awareness of the type of damage that one goes through in training. And influencers’ boxing surely is not helping in any way.