Kyle Busch Was Main Attraction for Nitro Rallycross Fans but Former UFC Star Michael Bisping Delivered Eye-Popping Moment When He Shockingly Removed Artificial Eye During Broadcast
Kyle Busch loves racing. That’s why through the years, he’s consistently run Xfinity and Truck Series races while running a full-time Cup Series schedule. This weekend, Busch took his driving to a whole new level as he flew through the air racing for the first time with Nitro Rallycross in Phoenix.
Busch had a solid weekend, advancing to the final, where he just missed the podium. While the NASCAR driver was undoubtedly the main attraction, he wasn’t the only one to provide highlights during the broadcast. Former UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping joined the announcers in the broadcast booth and delivered an eye-popping moment when he was asked about his artificial eye and removed it during the live broadcast.
Kyle Busch races Nitro Rallycross for first time
Just a week after wrapping up the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season at Phoenix, Kyle Busch didn’t have to go far to participate in his next event. The 36-year-old driver stayed in the desert and competed for the first time in Nitro Rallycross, a style of dirt racing created by motorsports legend Travis Pastrana this year that features drifting and jumping.
While Busch is known for his success on asphalt, he’s had experience on dirt in the past, racing multiple times in Prelude to a Dream at Eldora Speedway. He won the event in 2012.
Heading into the Nitro Rallycross race at Phoenix, Busch was understandably reserved in his expectations.
Michael Bisping shockingly removes artificial eye during broadcast
Michael Bisping had an undefeated 11-0 record in mixed martial arts when he joined the UFC in 2006 and won The Ultimate Fighter 3. Over the course of the next decade, the English fighter made his way up the ranks. In June 2016, he reached the pinnacle of his career, defeating Luke Rockhold in a first-round knockout, and claimed the UFC middleweight title.
Unbelievably, Bisping fought with a detached retina for years and admitted that he was “clinically blind” for the last few fights of his career, which ended in 2017. Since retiring, Bisping became a fight analyst and started acting. After struggling with a specialized lens, he received a prosthetic lens and has never shied away from showing it off.
During the Nitro Rallycross broadcast, after talking about how much he enjoyed attending the races, one of the announcers brought up Bisping’s artificial eye.
“Wanna see?” Bisping asked. He didn’t wait for a response and instead stuck his finger into his eye and pulled it out.
“That’s a first,” the announcer said repeatedly, as Bisping held the eye in between his fingers. Moments later, he reinserted the eye and the announcer joked, telling him to “keep his eye on the prize.”
Kyle Busch finishes fourth in Rallycross debut
Kyle Busch was in no mood for joking. He’s a competitor. While intent on having fun, he wanted to be competitive in his first-time appearance with Rallycross. And he was. After advancing to the main event, which featured eight cars, the two-time Cup Series champion started in sixth on row 3.
Early in the race, the No. 51 car of Busch dropped back as far as 7th. However, with two laps to go, he moved up a couple of spots and on the last lap, made one final pass to move up to fourth position, just missing the podium.
“That was a lot of fun,” Busch said after the race. “As soon as my guys were telling me P4, good job across the line, I was like ‘Damn it. It wasn’t third.’ At least be on the podium, you know.”
Busch said he enjoyed the experience so much that he planned on coming back in the future.
“The biggest thing was obviously learning the car and the trade and trying to figure all of that out and I certainly have a long ways to go,” he said. “We’re not even tip of the mountain yet. Certainly would enjoy the opportunity to come back and run some more. Run some different tracks.”
And the Rallycross fans would certainly welcome him back. However, Michael Bisping is a whole different story.
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