A casualty of the UFC 223 debacle, the intriguing lightweight matchup between Anthony Pettis and Michael Chiesa has been rescheduled for UFC 226.
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported the addition to UFC 226.
The story is well known by now. Conor McGregor stormed the Barclays Center with a pack of goons and threw a dolly at a fighter bus that contained Khabib Nurmagomedov. The dolly shattered a window, and Michael Chiesa happened to be next to that window. A piece of glass cut his forehead and he was removed from the card. Anthony Pettis was then floated around as a replacement opponent for Max Holloway in the main event, but could not reach a deal with the UFC. Now they’ll cross paths in July.
Michael Chiesa has had a successful career in the Octagon since winning the 15th season of The Ultimate Fighter against fan-favorite Al Iaquinta. Since then he has gone 6-3 with impressive submissions over jiu-jitsu specialists Beneil Dariush and Jim Miller. Chiesa is looking to bounce back from a controversial loss to Kevin Lee in which Mario Yamasaki called off the fight before Chiesa definitively lost consciousness or tapped to the rear-naked choke.
Anthony Pettis is a former lightweight champion who has struggled to find his stride since losing the belt to Rafael dos Anjos in 2015. Since then, Pettis has gone a brutal 2-4 including a 1-1 stint at featherweight. After five straight wins and performance bonuses in the latter four from 2011 to 2013, Pettis was expected to dominate the lightweight division for years to come. The decreased quality of performance and several injuries has prevented that from happening. Pettis lost to Dustin Poirier in his last outing due to a rib injury in the fourth round.
UFC 226 is a stacked card with Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier headlining in a champion vs. champion bout. The event takes place on July 7 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Other great fights include Derrick Lewis vs. Francis Ngannou and Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega.
