EXCLUSIVE | After winning TUF, Macy Chiasson ready to make a run for the title

The Ultimate Fighter 28 featured men’s heavyweights and women’s featherweights, arguably the two weakest divisions in the UFC. The hope was it would add fighters to the respective divisions and possible title contenders. It appears the UFC may have gotten that in Macy Chiasson.

Inside the house, Chiasson had a noticeable height and weight advantage. Chiasson is a natural featherweight while most of the other girls competing on the show were natural bantamweights. That was a big help to Chiasson during the fights.

“I would say my size and my weight gave me an advantage,” Chiasson said to BJPENN.com. “These girls didn’t have to cut weight in the house, they walked around heavier and could be a lot stronger. I couldn’t get very heavy in there or I wouldn’t have been able to make weight at all. As far as me being tall, it gave me an advantage, but they also had an advantage as well. They were there at their strongest point. I think most of those girls could fluctuate between 135 and 145.”

Ultimately, it was Chiasson who won TUF 28 and was awarded a six-figure UFC contract for her achievement.

Now a member of the official UFC roster, many fans and analysts believe Chiasson could already be very close to earning a title shot against reigning featherweight queen Cris Cyborg.

“I don’t know, that hasn’t really been determined yet,” Chiasson added. “My coach and I are actually meeting within the week to go over some things. I don’t really have an authority to say who I want to fight. So really whoever they decide to give me, my team and I will get ready for it.”

As Chiasson says, no matter who she has to fight, she will be ready. Since moving to Fortis MMA, Chiasson believes she has gotten a lot better as a fighter and as a person. Fortis is all about commitment, and the 27-year-old is showing it. She moved from Louisana to Dallas to train full-time at Fortis and hasn’t looked back since.

“Making the move to Fortis was one of the best decisions I have ever made for my MMA career. We have a great group of people in the gym,” she said. “Every single person there is an amazing fighter, and you have several UFC guys training there. I have more people to train with. When I was in New Orleans I didn’t have the bodies to work with. There were no elite MMA fighters to work with. We have a motto at Fortis ‘hard work is good work.’ I have never trained so hard. It makes sense why their gym is what it is.”

It isn’t all Fortis, though, as Chiasson is a very good fighter. On the show, she won by knockout and submission, and doing so was important to her. Many thought her ground game was weak and she was a standup fighter only, but she proved all the doubters wrong.

“I mean I definitely wanted everyone in there to know that I am not just a one fight fighter. That is what I mean when I am dynamic,” Chiasson said. “I’m always working on different aspects of my fight game. I am not just working on my striking, or jiu-jitsu, it is everything. That is what makes me such a big deal as far as that goes.”

Now, Chiasson is back in the gym training and getting better for her next fight. When that will take place and who it will be against remains unknown. What is known is that Chiasson can say she won TUF 28 and is now a UFC fighter.

“It definitely is a life changer. I made a lot of sacrifices finically to move to a better camp to become a better fighter and a better athlete. It is definitely a relief for me,” she said. “I get to do the thing I love and I get to train hard. Winning The Ultimate Fighter and getting the contract definitely makes me want to push harder.”

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 12/5/2018.