After winning The Ultimate Fighter 15 Lightweight Tournament in 2022, big things were expected of Michael Chiesa. However, he lost essential bouts at Lightweight. He had a career resurgence after moving up to Welterweight, racking off four consecutive victories. Unfortunately, he lost his next three, but has rebounded with two submission victories.
The 37-year-old’s next fight is against Court McGee at UFC Atlanta, headlined by Joaquin Buckley and Kamaru Usman. Fans are eager to know more about Chiesa ahead of the fight night at the State Farm Arena. Let’s take a closer look.
Michael Chiesa’s Personal Life
The welterweight fighter was born in Aurora, Colorado, U.S., on Dec. 17, 1987, to Mark and Teresa Chiesa. His family later moved to Spokane County, Washington, where the 37-year-old grew up with his two sisters. Chiesa‘s father passed away due to myelodysplastic syndrome shortly before his TUF triumph.
Chiesa’s father is of Italian descent, with roots in Camogli, and grew up in Brooklyn, New York, while his mother is Italian American, with her family’s roots in Sicily. Chiesa has been married to Kelsi Berger, a realtor, since June 2023. Born to Delores and Frank Berger in Washington on Dec. 13, 1989, she has two siblings, Rylee and Nick.
Chiesa started wrestling when he was 11 years old. Before that, he was only interested in skateboarding. Chiesa’s nickname is “Maverick,” the alias of the popular character played by Tom Cruise in the Top Gun film series, Pete Mitchell.
The 37-year-old was an outstanding wrestler at Shadle Park High School. He attended Spokane Falls Community College for three days before dropping out to pursue his MMA career. Notably, he was the high school coach of future UFC lightweight Terrance McKinney.
Chiesa has been training at Sikjitsu under head coach Rick Little since 2008. Former two-time UFC Women’s Bantamweight champion Julianna Peña also trains under Little. He is a Black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under James Weed. He achieved this feat after his rear-naked choke victory over Max Griffin at UFC 310.
Chiesa’s desire to become an MMA fighter started when he was in seventh grade. His heroes in life are not MMA fighters but his late father and grandfather. Before his MMA career picked up, the 37-year-old worked full time for a Budweiser distributor.
Jab, cross, and spinning elbow to a double leg are his favorite MMA combinations. As for grabbing, he likes to scramble and make it messy. In addition to fighting, Chiesa works as a desk analyst for ESPN. He was one half of the “UFC Round Up with Paul Felder & Michael Chiesa” with retired UFC lightweight Paul Felder.