What’s the story?
Michael ‘Maverick’ Chiesa claims to be a gigantic Lightweight fighter. Chiesa, The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 15 Champion is on a three fight win-streak, with two of those wins coming by way of submission.
With current UFC Lightweight Champion Conor McGregor being everyone’s favourite call-out target, Chiesa, on his part, has issued a call-out to ‘Nototrious’, in his own style. While speaking to ESPN's 5ive Rounds podcast, Chiesa gave McGregor credit for being a skilled fighter, however, he pointed out the upcoming contenders in the division and stated that as a champion, it is McGregor’s duty to defend his belt.
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While referencing ‘Sambo’ savant Khabib Nurmagomedov and the only fighter on a ten-fight UFC win streak, Tony Ferguson, Chiesa claimed that McGregor would struggle against the bigger athletes, in the LW division. Chiesa, personally, feels that McGregor will not be the one holding the UFC Lightweight belt by the end of 2017.
In case you didn’t know...
‘The Notorious’ Conor McGregor (21-3) is the current UFC LW champion of the world and is infamous for not having defended any World Championship he has won, till date.
McGregor is a former Cage Warriors 145 and 155-pound champion as well as the former UFC 145 pound, and current 155-pound champion in the UFC. However, strangely enough, he has never defended any of the aforementioned world titles, having already vacated three of them.
On the other hand, ‘Maverick’ Michael Chiesa (14-2) won the TUF 15 season and has earned a position in the top ten in his division, owing to his recent three-fight win streak. Chiesa is a wizard on the mat, scoring 10 of his 14 wins by way of submission.
Standing at 6’1” tall, Chiesa cuts a huge amount of weight in order to make the Lightweight limit of 155 pounds. He, often, enters the Octagon with a significant size advantage, owing to his huge weight cut. This, perfectly, complements his grappling-heavy style of fighting, since his weight advantage on fight night provides him with the extra zing on the mat.
The heart of the matter
Everyone wants a fight with Conor McGregor, or as the ‘Notorious’ one says, everyone wants that ‘Red Panty Night’. McGregor is, currently, the biggest draw in all of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), and virtually every fighter in the sport is angling for a big money fight. And as we all know, ‘money fights’ are what McGregor specialises in.
Chiesa, on his part, is trying to set up a future fight with McGregor. Here’s what he had to say in the interview with ESPN's 5ive Rounds podcast (credits: MMA Mania)
"I know he's good. I'm not knocking him. We have to recognize the guy can f---ing fight. But you have to look at the guys coming up in the Lightweight division. Tony Ferguson and Khabib, you have to fight the winner of that fight. I mean, dude, you're good, but you're going up against a guy who is 24-0, multiple sambo world champion, or a guy that would be on a 10-fight win streak. Conor is good, but I really don't think he's a true lightweight.”
Chiesa, then, goes on to claim that if a fight with McGregor ever materialises, he would simply drag ‘Notorious’ to the ground and beat him. Chiesa is extremely confident in his grappling skills, and although, he is well aware of McGregor’s striking game, he believes that he can get the Irishman to the ground and submit him.
What’s next?
As of now, McGregor is on a paternity leave from the UFC. He and his partner, Dee Devlin are expecting their first child together. McGregor is still the undisputed UFC Lightweight champion of the world. However, the UFC has scheduled an interim title fight between the division’s top contenders Khabib Nurmagomedov and Tony Ferguson at UFC 209.
The winner of the interim title fight will, eventually, go on to face McGregor in a title unification bout.
On the other hand, Michael Chiesa, having broken through into the top 10 of the division, is seeking big fights in order to advance his career. For now, he remains a strong grappler with decent striking. However, it remains to be seen, whether Chiesa can break through into the UFC LW top 5 and work his way to a shot at McGregor’s UFC LW title.
Sportskeeda’s Take:
Conor McGregor’s body frame is well-suited to the 155-pound division. So, all this talk of McGregor not being a true Lightweight, shouldn’t be given much consideration. After all, ‘Notorious’ did beat Eddie Alvarez, at UFC 205 for the belt.
McGregor made the weight, talked the talk, and won the fight; all in the Lightweight division. That said, Chiesa is, in fact, a huge Lightweight fighter. He cuts a lot of weight and also has a height and reach advantage on McGregor.
Now, McGregor has had three fights against legitimate UFC-level Lightweight fighters. Two fights against Nate Diaz and the title-winning performance against Alvarez. Granted that the fights against Diaz took place at 170 pounds, but Diaz has been a natural 155 pounder for the vast majority of his MMA career.
And it is a fact that McGregor struggled in both fights against the size and height of Diaz.
On the other hand, Alvarez, whom McGregor beat for the LW title, gave up a reach advantage to ‘Notorious’. That said, McGregor has a murderers’ row, waiting for him, on his return to the UFC.
Nurmagomedov, Ferguson, Chiesa, Edson Barboza and many other fighters in the division are big, strong Lightweights. However, fans of the ‘Notorious’ one can be rest assured that no matter how big his opponents are, ‘Mystic Mac’ finds a way to catch them on the chin and put them to sleep with his sniper of a left hand.
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