Many fighters in the UFC entered the promotion through The Ultimate Fighter reality series. Multiple TUF alumni have even achieved undisputed champion status in the UFC. Even more have come close, and some have not had an opportunity.
Michael Chiesa is one such fighter. Chiesa is set to face Court McGee in the upcoming UFC Atlanta prelims. Preluding the matchup, let’s take a closer look at Chiesa.
Michael Chiesa’s Age, Height, Weight, and Reach
Chiesa was born on Dec. 7, 1987, in Aurora, Colorado. The 37-year-old has a professional MMA record of 25 wins and seven losses. Nicknamed “Maverick,” Chiesa fights out of the southpaw stance.
Standing 6-foot-1, Chiesa is quite tall for the division, with an average middleweight between 5-foot-8 and 6-foot-1. Chiesa has an arm reach of 75.5 inches and a leg reach of 43 inches. As a welterweight, he weighs around 170 lbs, but he will probably be bigger outside of fight camp. The 37-year-old had also competed at lightweight.
Chiesa’s Submission and Knockout Record
Chiesa began his martial arts journey in high school with wrestling, but he later trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, and boxing. Jiu-Jitsu has been his bread and butter, evidenced by 12 of his 18 wins. Notably, ten of those victories came via rear-naked choke submissions.
Chiesa is 13 – 7 in the UFC. Eight of those wins came via submission, seven with a rear-naked choke. Al Iaquinta, Anton Kuivanen, Colton Smith, Jim Miller, Beneil Dariush, Tony Ferguson, and Max Griffin fell victim to Chiesa’s rear-naked chokes.
Only the fights against Ferguson and Griffin were at Welterweight. The rest were at Lightweight. Notably, the submission victory over Iaquinta came during The Ultimate Fighter 15 Lightweight Tournament finale. Chiesa‘s only kimura submission came against Carlos Condit at UFC 232.
Despite his strength in rear-naked choke submissions, Chiesa has been susceptible to brabo chokes. He has been stopped six times in MMA, and three of those came with brabo chokes. Kevin Holland, Vicente Luque, and Jorge Masvidal defeated Chiesa with the technique.
Chiesa’s only rear-naked choke loss came against Kevin Lee at UFC Fight Night 112, while his only triangle armbar loss came against Anthony Pettis at UFC 226. The 37-year-old is a durable fighter, evidenced by his sole KO/TKO loss to Joe Lauzon at UFC Fight Night 50. It was a doctor’s stoppage due to a cut on his eye. Notably, he hasn’t had a KO/TKO victory in his professional MMA career.
Chiesa’s Career Before the UFC
Chiesa entered the UFC through The Ultimate Fighter reality series. He won season 15 of the series by submitting Al Iaquinta. It was his fifth straight first-round submission win after winning his professional MMA debut by decision.
Before the UFC, the 37-year-old had a professional MMA record of five wins and no losses. He competed at Rumble on the Ridge, Battlefield Fight League, Lords of the Cage, and CageSport. Chiesa has a 7 – 1 amateur MMA record. Notably, he had lost his first amateur MMA bout