Michael Chiesa News

Michael Chiesa reveals the "version" of Tony Ferguson he thinks would've beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov
Cole Shelton - August 15, 2024
Michael Chiesa thinks the version of Tony Ferguson that beat Rafael dos Anjos would’ve beaten Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ferguson vs. Nurmagomedov was one of the biggest fights that never came to fruition. It was booked on multiple occasions, but the pair never ended up meeting in the Octagon for a variety of reasons. According to Chiesa, he thinks had Ferguson and Nurmagomedov fought after ‘El Cucuy’ beat dos Anjos, he thinks Ferguson could’ve won.

Michael Chiesa pleads with Tony Ferguson to retire for good after UFC Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - August 13, 2024
Michael Chiesa thinks Tony Ferguson needs to stop competing after UFC Abu Dhabi. On the main card of UFC Abu Dhabi earlier this month, Chiesa scored a first-round submission win over Ferguson in a one-sided performance. After the fight, Ferguson half-announced his retirement but has since walked back on that, and now Chiesa is pleading with Ferguson to retire.

Michael Chiesa reveals he would have retired from MMA had he lost to Tony Ferguson at UFC Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - August 5, 2024
Michael Chiesa says he would have retired had he lost to Tony Ferguson at UFC Abu Dhabi. Chiesa was fighting for the first time in over a year as he took on Ferguson, in a fight he was a sizeable favorite in. However, he was on a three-fight losing streak so there was pressure on him to get the win. Not only was Chiesa fighting to likely save his UFC job, but he says had he lost he would have hung up his gloves and retired. Luckily for Chiesa, he made quick work of Ferguson as he scored a first-round submission win.

Pros react after Michael Chiesa submits Tony Ferguson at UFC Abu Dhabi
Chris Taylor - August 3, 2024
Today’s UFC Abu Dhabi event featured a highly anticipated welterweight bout between Tony Ferguson and Michael Chiesa. Ferguson (25-11 MMA) was looking to earn his first win since June of 2019 when he took to the cage this afternoon. ‘El Cucuy’ had lost his previous seven fights in a row, his most previous defeat coming against Paddy Pimblett at UFC 296 this past December.

Pro fighters make their picks for Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa
Cole Shelton - August 1, 2024
On the main card of UFC Abu Dhabi, a highly-anticipated welterweight bout goes down as Tony Ferguson takes on Michael Chiesa. Heading into the fight, Ferguson is a massive +420 underdog while ‘The Maverick’ is a -720 favorite on FanDuel. Ahead of the scrap, BJPENN.com reached out to several pro-fighters to get their predictions for the fight. Although many pros want to see Ferguson get the win and end his losing streak, the majority of pros expect Chiesa to use his wrestling and size to control ‘El Cucuy’ on the ground.

Tony Ferguson sends Michael Chiesa a message ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi showdown: "I'm going to choke you out"
Josh Evanoff - July 31, 2024
Tony Ferguson hopes that Michael Chiesa is ready for their UFC Abu Dhabi clash. ‘El Cucuy’ has been out of the octagon since a unanimous decision loss to Paddy Pimblett in December. That defeat at UFC 296 was Tony Ferguson’s seventh loss in a row, previously losing to the likes of Michael Chandler, Beneil Dariush, and Nate Diaz. Seven months removed from that defeat, the former interim champion will face Michael Chiesa.

Michael Chiesa still believes Tony Ferguson is a "very dangerous fight" ahead of UFC Abu Dhabi
Cole Shelton - July 31, 2024
Michael Chiesa isn’t overlooking Tony Ferguson ahead of their fight at UFC Abu Dhabi on Saturday. Chiesa and Ferguson are set to meet on Saturday’s main card in a pivotal fight for both of their careers. Ferguson is on a seven-fight losing streak, and Dana White has urged Ferguson to retire win or lose after Saturday’s bout.

Dana White hopes Tony Ferguson will retire win or lose following fight with Michael Chiesa at UFC Abu Dhabi
Harry Kettle - June 10, 2024
UFC CEO Dana White hopes Tony Ferguson retires following his upcoming showdown against Michael Chiesa. As we all know, Tony Ferguson is a legend in mixed martial arts. He’s done some incredible things throughout the course of his career, especially in the UFC. Alas, in recent years, he’s fallen on hard times – and that’s an understatement. He is 0-7 in his last seven fights, with many of those defeats being pretty brutal.

Nick Diaz returns, UFC Abu Dhabi main card revealed featuring Tony Ferguson vs. Michael Chiesa
Fernando Quiles Jr. - May 29, 2024
Nick Diaz is back and he will be a part of a stacked UFC Abu Dhabi card. UFC CEO Dana White had his matchmakers cooking up a card for UFC Abu Dhabi, and they have delivered in terms of name recognition. The UFC boss has announced that Stockton’s own Nick Diaz is back and will be taking on Vicente Luque in a bout scheduled for five rounds on August 5th. Diaz hasn’t been seen inside the Octagon since his rematch with fellow MMA legend “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler back in September 2021.

Sean Strickland believes "it's time" to fight Michael Chiesa over feud about dogs: "You haven't earned that right"
Josh Evanoff - April 4, 2024
Former UFC middleweight champion Sean Strickland wants to fight Michael Chiesa. ‘Tarzan’ regularly takes to social media with his thoughts about politics, pop culture, and society in general. That has led Sean Strickland to cultivate quite a big fanbase online. However, his newest take has earned him the scorn of UFC analyst Michael Chiesa, and several others.

Kevin Holland urges Michael Chiesa to retire following UFC 291: "You're never gonna get a title"
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 30, 2023
Kevin Holland gave a brutally honest take on Michael Chiesa’s fighting future following UFC 291. Holland and Chiesa shared the Octagon in the UFC 291 main card opener. This one didn’t last long, as Holland was able to secure a choke in the opening frame. Chiesa has now lost three fights in a row and has been submitted in two of those fights. It’s a tough skid for Chiesa, who had previously been on a four-fight winning streak prior to this current stretch.

Michael Chiesa issues statement following submission loss to Kevin Holland at UFC 291: “I ain’t done yet”
Fernando Quiles Jr. - July 30, 2023
Michael Chiesa has spoken out on his quick loss to Kevin Holland. Chiesa vs. Holland opened up the main card for UFC 291. The two shared the Octagon inside the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. It didn’t take long for Holland to demonstrate just how far his grappling has come. Chiesa found himself in a choke and was forced to tap in the opening frame.

UFC 291 Results: Kevin Holland stops Michael Chiesa in Round 1 (Video)
Chris Taylor - July 29, 2023
We have you covered for all of tonight’s UFC 291 results, including the welterweight bout between Kevin Holland and Michael Chiesa. Holland (24-9 MMA) was last seen in action at April’s UFC 287 event in Miami, where he scored a stunning knockout victory over Santiago Ponzinibbio. That KO returned ‘Trailblazer’ to the win column, as he had previously suffered back-to-back losses to Stephen Thompson and Khamzat Chimaev respectively.

Michael Chiesa reveals he reached out to the UFC to try and fight Bo Nickal on short notice at UFC 290
Cole Shelton - July 27, 2023
Michael Chiesa tried to face Bo Nickal at UFC 290. After Tresean Gore pulled out of his UFC 290 scrap against Nickal due to injury, the UFC was in need of an opponent. The promotion ended up settling on Val Woodburn, but Michael Chiesa claims he had previously spoke to the UFC about stepping up on short notice to fight Nickal and the making a quick turnaround to compete this weekend against Holland.

Michael Chiesa responds to Kevin Lee’s claims that he turned down a short-notice fight: “He f**king fed you guys a bunch of sh*t”
Harry Kettle - July 27, 2023
Michael Chiesa has rejected a claim from Kevin Lee that he offered to step in and fight him on short notice. After more than 18 months away, Michael Chiesa will return to the Octagon this weekend to face Kevin Holland. He’s currently riding a two-fight losing streak, with his hope being that he can bounce back in Salt Lake City.

Kevin Holland admits Colby Covington would probably take him down but says his wrestling is good enough for Michael Chiesa
Cole Shelton - July 26, 2023
Kevin Holland knows his takedown defense isn’t top level just yet but says it’s plenty good enough to beat Michael Chiesa at UFC 291. When Holland was fighting at middleweight, he was easily taken down by Derek Brunson and Marvin Vettori. The losses showed a hole in his game and since then, Holland has dropped to welterweight and hasn’t had to show off much of his takedown defense as he has been fighting strikers.

Li Jingliang forced out of UFC 287 due to spine injury
Harry Kettle - March 28, 2023
UFC welterweight Li Jingliang has reportedly been forced to withdraw from his fight at UFC 287 due to injury. Next month, UFC 287 is set to emanate from Miami, Florida. While Gilbert Burns vs Jorge Masvidal is the welterweight match-up everyone is talking about, many fans were also excited to see Li Jingliang vs Michael Chiesa.

Dana White explains why Michael Chiesa was dragged out by cops at UFC 269
Christopher Taylor - December 11, 2021
Dana White has explained why welterweight fighter Michael Chiesa was dragged out by cops at tonight’s UFC 269 event in Las Vegas. Chiesa (18-6 MMA) was not competing at Saturday’s pay-per-view event, but was in attendance to watch him teammate Julianna Pena challenge Amanda Nunes for the promotions bantamweight title.