{"id":567184,"date":"2026-03-27T05:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/567184\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T05:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T05:49:09","slug":"michael-chiesas-last-ufc-walk-fighting-for-love-not-legacy-in-seattle-mma-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/567184\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Chiesa\u2019s Last UFC Walk: Fighting for Love, Not Legacy in Seattle | MMA News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MichaelMichael Chiesa will retirement from UFC after his fight with Niko Price at UFC Fight Night Seattle (PHOTO: Instagram\/mikemav22) When Michael Chiesa steps into the Octagon against Niko Price at UFC Fight Night in Seattle, he will not be chasing a title, nor attempting to force his way back into contention. Instead, the focus is more personal.\u201cThe ones who will love me the same whether I win or lose. This fight is for them,\u201d Chiesa tells timesofindia.com ahead of the fight. This will be the final UFC bout for the 38-year-old, closing a run that began in 2012 on The Ultimate Fighter. Back then, he announced himself with a submission win over Al Iaquinta – a fighter who would later go five rounds with Khabib Nurmagomedov for a UFC title.\u201cObviously, my win on The Ultimate Fighter was huge,\u201d recalls Chiesa, adding. \u201cAl turned out to be a very tough fighter – he fought for a world title on short notice and went five rounds with Khabib. That was probably the biggest win of my career, especially considering everything my family went through leading up to it.\u201dFrom that point on, Chiesa built an 18-year career across the lightweight and welterweight divisions, taking on a range of opponents and headlining events against the likes of Kevin Lee and Neil Magny.Yet, for all the fights and milestones, his outlook has rarely been defined by what he achieved. Instead, it has been shaped by what he absorbed.\u201cWe always want to hold on to the highs, but the lows are where you grow the most,\u201d says Chiesa. \u201cThat\u2019s where you learn about yourself, understand if you have the right people around you, and recognize where you need to make changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two Fights That Changed Perspectives<\/p>\n

That perspective was formed early. A defeat to Jorge Masvidal forced a shift in mindset.\u201cThe Jorge Masvidal fight taught me to show more respect to my opponents. At that time, I was young, undefeated, and ready to take on everyone, but I didn\u2019t fully respect his overall game. That loss changed my mindset.\u201dBut it was another setback that forced him to introspect more. Losses to Kevin Lee and then Anthony Pettis pushed Chiesa into a phase of recalibration, not just technically, but personally as well.\u201cThe Anthony Pettis fight was another major lesson. Going into that fight, I felt like I needed to talk more trash and be more brash to please fans. I carried that approach from the Kevin Lee fight into this one.\u201cAnthony humbled me. After that fight, my coach John Wood called me and said, \u2018This isn\u2019t who you are. The guy I met was a humble, blue-collar, hardworking kid. You don\u2019t need to be someone else.\u2019\u201dAnd the context made that loss stinger even sharper. Pettis, as Chiesa admits, was the reason he began training – his entry point into jiu-jitsu back home in Spokane.Yet, as has often been the case across his career, the response to adversity was to fight through. He returned with four wins, including a main-event victory over Magny.\u201cAgainst Neil Magny, going five rounds, and having to dig deep – that fight was big for me. Not many people can say they\u2019ve fought five rounds in a UFC main event, battled fatigue, and pushed through adversity. Even though I had a full camp, I got to the main event because Khamzat Chimaev got sick, so I had to prepare on short notice for two extra rounds. That fight really stands out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preparing for the Last Walk<\/p>\n

If Chiesa\u2019s past has been defined by adaptation, the present has been shaped by intent.\u201cThe biggest thing for me was that I wanted to leave no stone unturned. I prepared as hard as I possibly could. I started training camp a month early in anticipation of having to overcome any injuries, ailments, or anything like that.\u201dAgainst Price, Chiesa expects unpredictability and he is ready for it. \u201cWith Nico, you just have to expect the unexpected. He can finish fights on the feet, on the ground, and from a lot of unusual positions.\u201dStill, the technical preparation runs alongside something more personal. This is a farewell, and Chiesa has chosen not to distance himself from that reality.\u201cThroughout the training camp, I\u2019ve just embraced the emotions. It\u2019s been emotional because I\u2019m choosing to retire. Some might say it\u2019s early, but I\u2019m 38 years old, and I feel like I could still compete in more fights.\u201cBut since this fight is in my home state, it feels like a very fitting ending to this journey. I don\u2019t try to hold my emotions back. If I feel like crying, I let myself cry. I\u2019m the type of person who is very open about how I feel, and I think that\u2019s important. Getting those emotions out helps me stay focused on fight night.\u201dAnd it ties back to how he wants his career to be remembered, not by the outcomes alone, but through resilience.\u201cI hope people remember me for overcoming adversity. Especially during The Ultimate Fighter, when I had to deal with the loss of my father, be away from my family, and still push through the tournament. That, to me, is the most important moment of my career. Fighters eventually get forgotten\u2014that\u2019s just how it is\u2014but I hope that moment stands the test of time. I want to be remembered as someone who overcame adversity, not just in losses but in all the challenges I faced over an 18-year career,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

Beyond the Octagon<\/p>\n

Chiesa has already spent years building a parallel path in broadcasting, so the question on what after the Octagon does not really unruffle him. \u201cI see myself as a UFC commentator. I\u2019m not there yet, but I\u2019m very close. Since 2020, I\u2019ve essentially been juggling two careers\u2014competing and working in broadcasting. To fully focus on one, I\u2019ve had to take time away from the other. Now, I feel like it\u2019s time to step back from competing and fully commit to broadcasting.\u201dThe mindset remains consistent with the one that carried him through his fighting years. Asked to sum up his career in three words, he shoots back with:\u201cAmbitious. Persistent. Perseverance.\u201d\u201cThat\u2019s the formula that got me here. I\u2019m not the most talented guy or a naturally gifted athlete, but I\u2019ve always been a tireless worker. My persistence in training and my perseverance are what carried me to this point,\u201d says Chiesa. Watch UFC Fight Night – Adesanya vs Pyfer on 29th March, 2026 from 5:30 AM IST live on Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD (Tamil & Telugu).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Chiesa will retirement from UFC after his fight with Niko Price at UFC Fight Night Seattle (PHOTO:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":567185,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[9755,64,63,279022,786,26786,279023,4120,102365,785,35639,85,787],"class_list":{"0":"post-567184","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mma","8":"tag-anthony-pettis","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-chiesa","12":"tag-fighting","13":"tag-jorge-masvidal","14":"tag-kevin-lee","15":"tag-khamzat-chimaev","16":"tag-michael-chiesa","17":"tag-mma","18":"tag-neil-magny","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-ufc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=567184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/567185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=567184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=567184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=567184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}