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Portrait of Michael Chiesa

Michael Chiesa

(1987) Mixed Martial Arts Fighter

99 quotes in 316 categories

Michael Chiesa calls himself a hairy, wild man who loves the fight. He talks about planning each bout, honoring opponents, and chasing a world title despite personal loss. He also criticizes a referee he thinks should never work again. He believes his style focuses on damage and submissions, not just takedowns.

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Michael Chiesa is a mixed martial arts fighter.

Quick Facts About Michael Chiesa

Born: December 7, 1987
Profession: Mixed Martial Arts Fighter

About Michael Chiesa

American mixed martial artist... | Michael Keith Chiesa is an American former professional mixed martial artist and sports analyst who competed in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional from 2008 to 2026, Chiesa was the winner of FX's inaugural The Ultimate Fighter: Live.

Quotes by Michael Chiesa

Usually I'm a very instinctive fighter.

Fighter

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I've always just been this hairy, wild man.

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I'm a big guy; people don't realize that.

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I've always loved the fight with Khabib.

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My path leads to a world title.

Journey

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I'm a huge lightweight.

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I only want to fight Top 5 guys. I'm here to be a champion.

Champion

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I think Gilbert Burns is going to become my greatest rival.

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My father worked very hard and he never missed a day of work, no matter how sick he was.

Day

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The beard has gotta stay. That's my staple. I can't get rid of it.

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I don't classify myself as a wrestler, I'm a grappler.

Classify

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I'm not afraid to grapple with anybody in the lightweight division.

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If you win one fight in the UFC, you're good. If you win two in a row, you're great.

Fight

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I always want to fight guys that want to test me.

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I haven't fought for a while and didn't want a warm-up fight. I wanted to jump right back in the pit and…

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Whenever I get matched up with a guy, I always look at who beat him and I've got to be better than…

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We're never going to solve weight cutting, we need to just get past that. People are always going to cut weight.

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Mario Yamasaki should just crawl in a hole and never step inside of any type of professional mixed martial arts event. He…

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If you look at my fights, you see I finish a lot. It's just how I like to go and I'm always…

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Anytime I've won a fight and asked for an opponent, I've usually gotten it, and that's because it's all well thought-out.

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Like every fight, after you make weight, you want to go crazy and eat after you've gone through a camp where you…

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It's never easy to watch. It's never great to see your friend or teammate put himself through hell.

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Just do Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz 3 for the 165-pound title. You want to talk about a big fight? That's a big fight.…

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170 is not a popularity contest. 170 is a working man's weight class where you work hard, you get your rewards whereas…

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I get a pit in my stomach every time I think of that last attempt to make 155 for the Anthony Pettis…

Body

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I finish every fight. And if I don't finish and go to a decision, I win 10-8 rounds. How many guys do…

Decision

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I feel like a fight is a season. When you're in the UFC, one fight is the equivalent of a whole football…

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When you train outside of camp, it's fun, I'm playing around, I'm working hard but I'm having fun. When I get into…

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I'm the type of guy where I feel like if you throw me in against the guy that's gonna be my hardest…

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I'm letting my coaches take the reins more. Letting them make the decisions on what's going to be a hard practice, what's…

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I've got to become 'The ultimate Ultimate Fighter.'

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Fighting at welterweight, I'm much more active in the gym.

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I'm not a small guy. I can get up to 205 pounds and be athletic and be in shape.

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I'm not the prettiest. I'm not the best, but I win and that's all that matters in the UFC.

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I'm just looking forward to a great fight and just to keep making my dad proud.

Dad

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I've talked to my coaches, and I don't even know if I would go to 165. I might go to 175.

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When you can't do road work for a week-and-a-half, that's really hard on your weight cut.

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I train great outside of camp but then once camp starts, it's just a constant weight cut.

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Dumb and tough goes a long way in this sport but to be elite, you've got to be smarter.

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I've had a mullet the better half of my whole life.

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Michael Chiesa by topic

Wrestling (53) Fight (23) Time (10)