Michael Chiesa News

Chris Taylor - July 6, 2019

A welterweight bout between veterans Diego Sanchez and Michael Chiesa kicked off tonight’s UFC 239 main card from Las Vegas. Sanchez (29-11 MMA) enters tonight’s contest on a two-fight winning streak, scoring victories over Craig White and Mickey Gall in his most recent octagon appearances.

Cole Shelton - July 5, 2019

Michael Chiesa is set for his second welterweight fight this Saturday at UFC 239, where he will take on Diego Sanchez. Moving up to welterweight was something was considering for a long time given how big he is. He says he would wake up a “couple of pounds” over 180 pounds with two-weeks until fight night — quite a distance from the lightweight division’s 156-pound limit. Not having to cut as much weight as a welterweight is a huge bonus and a big stress reliever for Chiesa.

Cole Shelton - July 1, 2019

Don’t call it a legend tour. Michael Chiesa is set to fight longtime veteran of the sport, Diego Sanchez at UFC 239. And, after beating another veteran in Carlos Condit last time out, many are saying he is fighting legends of the sport. But, the 31-year-old makes it very clear, Sanchez is not a washed-up legend like fans are making him out to be.

Tom Taylor - June 24, 2019

In 2017, grappling specialists Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee met in a lightweight grudge match. Unfortunately, this match ended in controversy, as Lee locked up a rear-naked choke, and referee Mario Yamasaki stopped the action before Chiesa had actually tapped. Today, when Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee are both competing in the welterweight division, Chiesa is still holding out hope for a rematch.

Tom Taylor - December 29, 2018

The final non-title bout of the UFC 232 main card occurred in the welterweight division, where former interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit looked to rebound from a string of losses opposite Michael Chiesa, who was making his debut in the welterweight division after a long run in the lightweight division. Early in this riveting welterweight style matchup, it looked like the surprisingly hulking Michael Chiesa would be able to give Carlos Condit all kinds of problems with his wrestling. As the round wore down, however, Condit was able to threaten with a very tight armbar off his back, and then with a heel hook.

Drake Riggs - December 21, 2018

Next Saturday night, season 15 winner of The Ultimate Fighter, Michael ‘Maverick’ Chiesa makes his return to the cage at UFC 232 to take on Carlos Condit in his UFC welterweight debut. However, Chiesa continues to fight his fight outside the MMA world as well.

Tom Taylor - October 17, 2018

Back in April, Conor McGregor went ballistic in Brooklyn, and launched dolly through the window of a shuttle bus carrying several fighters on the UFC 223 bill. One of those fighters was Michael Chiesa, who was lacerated by a piece of flying glass, and forced out of his UFC 223 fight with Anthony Pettis as a result. Given the injury he sustained, and the fact that he was deprived of his expected UFC 223 payday, Michael Chiesa and his team elected to pursue legal action against Conor McGregor. And while it’s very possible Chiesa receives a nice chunk of cash at the end of this ongoing case, he says he and his family have been faced with the wrath of McGregor’s ornery fans as it all unfurls.

Chris Taylor - September 15, 2018

It appears that former UFC interim welterweight champion Carlos Condit (30-12 MMA) is ready to make his return to the octagon. “The Natural Born Killer” was recently called out by former lightweight competitor Michael Chiesa, who told ESPN‘s Ariel Helwani that he hoped to fight Condit in his welterweight debut at December’s UFC 232 event.

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