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A former TUF winner recently clapped back at casual UFC fans who have labelled him a journeyman without truly educating themselves on his career. He has had a lengthy stint with the MMA leader and fought the who's who of top-ranked fighters and former champions.
TUF season 15 winner Michael Chiesa has competed for the MMA leader for 12 years after earning a UFC contract by winning the first-ever live season. During his lengthy stint, he has split time competing at both lightweight and welterweight and currently has a professional record of 17-7. Chiesa most recently snapped his three-fight losing skid by earning a first-round submission win over former interim lightweight champion Tony Ferguson.
During his latest appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Chiesa sounded off on casual fans labelling him a journeyman based on his performances since 2021. The former TUF winner mentioned that he has had a successful career and has opened up opportunities for himself when he eventually retires from the sport:
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"To the casual fan, they'd say, 'Oh, you know, he's a journeyman'...Well guess what? I fought in the UFC for over 12 years. I'm an analyst, I'm gonna be a commentator someday. This all wasn't for nothing. So if my career ended competitively with [the] Tony Ferguson fight, it's a win regardless. I won. I won in the sport of mixed martial arts in the grand scheme of things." [52:37]
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Check out the full episode featuring Michael Chiesa's comments below:
UFC veteran Michael Chiesa confirms he would have retired had he lost to Tony Ferguson
In addition to sounding off on casual UFC fans that label him a journeyman, Michael Chiesa also confirmed that he would have retired had he lost to Tony Ferguson at UFC on ABC 7 this past August.
During the aforementioned appearance, Chiesa mentioned that he wasn't chasing a win and was prepared to call it a career had his losing skid extended to four:
"Even though I told my wife that, saying like, 'Hey, if this is a really hard fight for me, this is probably gonna be the last one', especially if it didn't go my way. I'd be done. If I lose four in a row, I'm not going to go chase down a win. It's just we're done, I had a good run." [52:22]
Check out the final faceoff between Tony Ferguson and Michael Chiesa below:
