Michael Chiesa reveals he reached out to the UFC to try and fight Bo Nickal on short notice at UFC 290

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.

“I’ll let you all in on a little secret, cause I’m not a big social media guy, I’m not into it,” Michael Chiesa said at UFC 291 media day. “(Holland) wasn’t the only guy throwing his hat into the ring, because when Bo Nickal was looking for an opponent, I reached out to Dana and Mick and was like, hey guys, I’m in shape and I’ll still fight Holland. I just don’t really do it on social media. I just reach out to the powers that be. He wasn’t the only one who was looking for an extra check in July.”

RELATED: Stephen Thompson expecting a Fight of the Year contender against Michel Pereira at UFC 291.

Chiesa was impressed by Nickal

When asked if that is a fight Michael Chiesa would be interested in, ‘Maverick’ admitted he was impressed by Nickal and doesn’t think the fight happens with them both in different weight classes.

The only reason why Michael Chiesa was interested in facing Bo Nickal was due to the short notice and him believing it would just be a wrestling match.

“Me and Bo? He looked pretty dang good. I was thinking to myself, it would just be a wrestling match,” Chiesa added. “It wouldn’t be that bad. Then I saw what he did to Val, and I was like, I’m impressed.”

Michael Chiesa is set to end his nearly two-year-long layoff on Saturday at UFC 291 as he faces Kevin Holland. Chiesa enters the scrap on a two-fight losing skid.