UFC Atlanta proved to be an outstanding event, delivering an exhilarating night of action at the State Farm Arena. However, one bout that seemed to frustrate the audience was Michael Chiesa vs Court McGee. The tempo of that welterweight fight really dampened their enthusiasm. ‘Maverick’ emerged victorious in the fight, but he later expressed disappointment with how it unfolded.
“Unless you finish Court McGee, he’s really not an easy guy to look good against. I mean, even guys that go 15 minutes with him rarely kind of style. Like, he’s a really tough guy. He’s really durable,” Michael Chiesa stated on the post-fight presser. “I hit him with some good shots, and he kept coming. He kept coming at me, and I mean, it’s the fight I expected, so I guess I should not be so critical of myself. At the end of the day, I won. I won three fights in a row as of now.”
Although Michael Chiesa didn’t seem satisfied with his performance, his team seemed very pleased with his performance. Moreover, Chiesa had to fight his urge to go for a finish due to the possibility of ending up on the wrong side of the fight’s outcome. Instead, he decided to play the long game and play it safe, securing his nineteenth career victory.
“My coaches said it was an A+ performance. And I listen to them, you know, like, I’m always going to stay disciplined to listen to what they say,” Michael Chiesa added. “Me wanting to kinda go for finishes has cost me at times. And we felt that was Court’s best way to beat me, as if I kind of get ahead of myself… So, I really had to force myself to be patient, and it paid off.”
Well, there is a reason why Michael Chiesa has mixed feelings about his win over Court McGee. He was actually chasing a record and wanted to surpass former welterweight Damian Maia in that regard. And if you’re wondering what that is, well, it’s a submission win. Here’s what he had to say.
Michael Chiesa was looking for the record for the most submissions at UFC Atlanta
Michael Chiesa may not be in the rankings at this moment, but he’s got some pretty interesting stats to his name. Along with former fighter Kenny Florian, ‘Maverick’ sits in the second-most rear-naked choke submission wins in the UFC with seven. Above him is Brazilian fighter Demian Maia, who has a staggering nine submission victories coming via a rear-naked choke. However, the only issue with his fight against Court McGee was that the latter had never been choked out in his career, and it is still that way after UFC Atlanta.
“I’d like to beat Demian Maia’s rear-naked choke record. I didn’t even know that was a thing until the Max Griffin fight. I had no idea I was up in the mix,” Michael Chiesa stated, claiming that he was unaware of the state prior to his last submission win. “I just assumed Charles Oliveira takes the cake for everything in terms of submissions, but after the Max Griffin fight, they said you’re tied for second with Kenny Florian, with Demian Maia at the top.”
Well, more than the record, Michael Chiesa still has the title aspirations on the back of his head. However, at 37 years old, he may need to act fast and get himself in the rankings because things are only going to get tougher as he ages. Regardless, let us know your thoughts about his last performance in the comments down below.
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