Michael Chiesa issues statement following submission loss to Kevin Holland at UFC 291: “I ain’t done yet”

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.

Michael Chiesa Reacts To UFC 291 Loss

After the fight, Michael Chiesa took to his Instagram account to react to the defeat.

Michael Chiesa isn't retiring — he removed his gloves after the loss at #UFC291 but he says on IG that he'll be back:

"I’ll dust myself off, get back in the gym and get back to work. I ain’t done yet." pic.twitter.com/ijBFZAEQeg

— Damon Martin (@DamonMartin) July 30, 2023

“Well that sucked,” Chiesa wrote. “Congrats to @trailblaze2top and his team. Kevin is a helluva fighter, one of the most game fighters in combat sports. I knew this was a very challenging opponent to face coming off almost a two year layoff but I’ve never said no to a fight. I’ll dust myself off, get back in the gym and get back to work. I ain’t done yet.”

For the first time in his pro MMA career, Chiesa is in the midst of a three-fight losing streak. He hasn’t been victorious since a January 2021 bout against Neil Magny. The victory over Magny was actually his fourth straight win at the time.

Where Chiesa goes from here is too early to say, but as mentioned in his statement, he has no plans of hanging up his gloves right now. His last three losses certainly have not been against weak competition. In his rough stretch, “The Maverick” has been beaten by Vicente Luque, Sean Brady, and now Kevin Holland. Time will tell if the UFC throws him a bone for his next fight, or if Chiesa will be thrown to the wolves.

Chiesa certainly doesn’t want to keep trending downwards in his career, as it could lead to a release. It’ll be interesting to see if he can snap out of the current funk he’s on.