Michael Chiesa News

Drake Riggs - September 11, 2018

There’s no way that anyone will be forgetting the UFC 223 Conor McGregor bus attack anytime soon, especially all of those who were involved. And judging by the promos for UFC 229…the UFC doesn’t want anyone to forget either. LOL pic.twitter.com/OsHJICDYpb

Tom Taylor - July 13, 2018

Last Friday, at the UFC 226 weigh ins, long-time lightweight contender Michael Chiesa missed weight for his fight with Anthony Pettis, tipping the scales at 157.5, 1.5 pounds above the 156-pound limit for non-title lightweight fights. Moments after he stepped off the scale, Chiesa assured he was done at lightweight, evidently fed-up with the weight cut. Speaking on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show on ESPN this week, Michael Chiesa opened up on just how harrowing his UFC 226 weight cut was. Apparently, he worried he was going to kill himself.

Chris Taylor - July 7, 2018

A lightweight fight featuring former division title holder Anthony Pettis taking on Michael Chiesa found a home on tonight’s UFC 226 main card. Michael Chiesa missed weight for the fight coming in at 157.5 lbs. As a result, Chiesa will forfeit 30% of his fight purse to “Showtime”.

Drake Riggs - June 28, 2018

The fallout from a non-fighting related incident was unlike anything we’d ever seen before in the UFC during UFC 223’s fight week. As everyone knows by now, it was the infamous fighter bus attack by Conor McGregor and his dolly throwing ways.

Tom Taylor - May 22, 2018

Following in the footsteps of fighters like Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans and Tyron Woodley, Michael Chiesa is the latest fighter to take on side-gig as a UFC analyst. The ninth-ranked UFC lightweight will make his analyst debut this weekend, as he will join the Fox Sports desk during the UFC’s Saturday night debut in Liverpool. Chiesa will be accompanied at the analyst’s desk by former middleweight champ Michael Bisping, UFC color commentator Jimmy Smith, and anchor Karyn Bryant. This news was announced by Fox Sports on Monday.

Tom Taylor - May 1, 2018

If things had gone according to the original plan, Michael Chiesa would have collided with former UFC lightweight champ Anthony Pettis at UFC 223. Regrettably, this plan was foiled when Chiesa sustained several facial lacerations when Conor McGregor infamously threw a dolly through the window of the shuttle bus carrying fighters out of the Barclays Center. The good news is that this fight has been rescheduled. Pettis and Chiesa are now set to meet at UFC 226 this July 7 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Russell Sai - April 5, 2018

Many are still in disbelief by the actions of Conor McGregor and his crew who attacked a bus full of UFC 223 fighters in New York on Thursday. McGregor and his team can be seen throwing various large objects at a bus that was transporting the card’s red corner fighters. Windows on the bus were shattered and people including Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg were taken to the hospital to get checked on for injuries from broken glass.

Tom Taylor - March 28, 2018

9th-ranked UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa will be watching very closely when Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov battle for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 this April 7. With another few impressive wins, after all, he could very easily find himself locked in the cage with the winner. So who does Chiesa expect that winner to be? He’s leaning in the direction of Nurmagomedov on the basis of Nurmagomedov’s world class grappling ability.

Justin Golightly - March 8, 2018

Michael Chiesa was riding a nice little three-fight win streak until he ran into Kevin Lee, but now he’s back on the journey to restore his standing in the division and get back in that win column. He’ll be fighting former UFC lightweight champion Anthony Pettis at the stacked UFC 223 card. Not only is he eager to get back in the cage, but he’s also relieved that Conor McGregor will be stripped to leave room for other fighters like himself to eventually get a title shot. “The biggest thing we need, is we need movement. The 155-pound division has been log-jammed so many times. When Anthony was champion he had some injuries that held him out for a while, you know, so the division got jammed up. And then we had some movement, and then Conor [McGregor] won the title and we’re jammed up again, and you know, you just gotta keep the wheels in motion. It’s just good to see. Conor’s a two-time champion, but he can’t just sit and hold the belt and keep us all waiting. You know, there’s a lot of tough guys jockeying for their position to be number one, and you only have so much time in this sport, so you can’t let one guy rob a bunch of us of our opportunities to fight for the belt.”

Justin Golightly - February 1, 2018

The card is only about half finished but already the UFC’s trip to Brooklyn is looking awesome. UFC 223 is topped with the huge lightweight clash between Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson, with Rose Namajunas defending her new strawweight title against the very woman she took it from, the dangerous Joanna Jedrzejczyk. That should be enough to tune in, but underneath that are just more fun scraps. The latest addition is Michael Chiesa and Anthony Pettis. More LWs are headed to Brooklyn! 🌃@MikeMav22 and @ShowtimePettis join April’s #UFC223 card. pic.twitter.com/Rc5FGVInGj

Drake Riggs - January 30, 2018

UFC 223 continues to grow! Already off to a hot start with two title fights and three Lightweight fights in total…it looks like another might be getting added! ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reports that a showdown between season 15 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael Chiesa and former WEC and UFC Lightweight champion, Anthony Pettis could be in the cards for the night of action in Brooklyn, New York. Per sources, UFC is targeting a lightweight bout between Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa for UFC 223 on April 7 in Brooklyn.

Tom Taylor - July 25, 2017

On June 25, the UFC touched down in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with UFC Fight Night 112. In the main event, Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa went to war in a compelling clash of lightweight contenders. Unfortunately this main event was shrouded in controversy, as Lee locked up a first-round rear-naked choke, but referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the action before Chiesa actually tapped. Since then, Yamasaki has defended his stoppage, while the Oklahoma State Athletic Commission (OSAC) has denied Chiesa’s appeal. Despite this, Chiesa still feels he was shorted, and is harboring quite a bit of resentment against Yamasaki. On Monday’s edition of the MMA Hour, the lightweight even challenged the referee to a September 30 grappling match.

Tom Taylor - June 14, 2017

Last month, the UFC flew the headliners and co-headliners of its upcoming summer events out to Dallas for a stacked press conference. As is so often the case when too many fired-up fighters are shoehorned into a small space together, a number of heated confrontations occurred.  Of all the blowouts to occur at this press conference, none held a candle to the one involving ranked lightweights Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee, whose scrap will headline the UFC’s June 25 visit to Oklahoma City. This scuffle began when Lee reminded Chiesa that his mother would be present when they fought. Lee’s mention of Chiesa’s mother caused Chiesa’s blood to boil, at which point he threatened to slap Lee, and stormed across the cage in his foe’s direction. The two lightweights then collided in the middle of the stage, where Lee cracked Chiesa with a punch.

Tom Taylor - May 31, 2017

Earlier this month, the UFC flew the headliners and co-headliners of all its upcoming shows out to Dallas for a massive, summer kick-off press conference. As is so often the case when too many top fighters are brought together in one small room, drama ensued. Of all the drama that occurred on the stage that day, none was quiet as fiery as the blowout between UFC Oklahoma City headliners Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee. This drama occurred when Kevin Lee pointed out that Michael Chiesa’s mother will be watching when they fight in Oklahoma City. This did not go over well with Chiesa, who threatened Lee, warning him not to speak about his mother. When Lee brushed this threat off, Chiesa stood up, prompting Lee to do the same. The two then stormed to the middle of the stage, where Lee clocked Chiesa with a pretty nice punch.

Russell Ess - May 16, 2017

Do not talk about Michael Chiesa’s mother. With Kevin Lee just mentioning Chiesa’s mother at the UFC Summer Kickoff Press Conference, it hit an immediate nerve in Chiesa, who instructed to Lee to never talk about his mother. Things turned physical when Chiesa rushed over to Lee and was held back by security while Lee slipped under the security’s radar and hit him with a punch.

bjpenndotcom - May 13, 2017

Friday afternoon at the UFC Summer Kickoff press conference, UFC lightweights Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa were involved in a rather heated argument that led to a scuffle taking place between the two men. While security guards were quick to restrain Chiesa, Lee managed to land a clean right hand before security guards restrained him. Ultimately, both man left the Q&A portion of the press conference before returning to the stage at the commencement to have their staredown. Following the incident, which may or may not see the two men punished, Michael Chiesa took to social media to release a statement on the matter, saying:

bjpenndotcom - March 31, 2017

On June 25th, streaking lightweights Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee will step into the Octagon for a pivotal showdown for these two top ranked lightweights. The UFC announced the matchup on Twitter, where they also revealed that the fight would serve as the main event scrap to an already stacked card which features the likes of BJ Penn vs. Dennis Siver, Tim Boetsch vs. Johny Hendricks, and Felice Herrig vs. Justin Kish to name just a few of the high-profile fights on the card.

bjpenndotcom - March 15, 2017

Recently, UFC lightweights Michael Chiesa and Tony Ferguson have gone toe to toe in various interviews as ‘The Maverick’ and ‘El Cucuy’ have continued to trade barbs back and forth following Chiesa’s callout of the top ranked lightweight contender. Following Chiesa’s callout of Ferguson for an interim lightweight title fight, Ferguson shut down the idea, explaining that fight with Chiesa wasn’t appealing to him, and that he would prefer to fight Nate Diaz.