Michael Chiesa Explains Why He Ran To The Back After UFC 265 Loss

By
Alex Behunin
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Las Vegas, NV — Michael Chiesa was quite mad at himself after his loss at UFC 265.

It has been repeated time and time again: in MMA, the highs are extremely high, and the lows are the deepest of lows. The thrill and agony of MMA is very real.

Chiesa (18-5) suffered a heartbreaking loss in his last outing against Vicente Luque in one of the biggest fights of his career. After the fight, he was captured by the UFC film crew running to the back of the arena out of frustration. It was a very raw moment and showed what fighters go through when they lose.

Chiesa answered why he ran to the back and what went wrong in his fight at UFC 265, ahead of his return at this Saturday’s UFC Vegas 43.

“I was upset with the game-time decision that I made. I got into that position so fast against Vicente Luque that I just got excited and rushed a finish. That goes against the day one philosophy as a grappler: position before submission,” Chiesa told Cageside Press during the UFC Vegas 43 media day. “I started throwing up submissions before I even had a position secured, and that’s against everything that I’ve been doing, especially this recent run at 170 lb. You saw the way that I positionally dominated Diego Sanchez, you saw what I did to Neil Magny. You wouldn’t expect me to do something like that against Vicente, but I had such a rush for the finish. I was just mad at myself.”

Chiesa understands how it looked at the time. “It’s not the best display of being a good sportsman when I dart on out of there, you know? But I made sure to let him get his hand raised while I had to take it on the chin. But once I got out of that octagon, there is a lot that goes into these fights…when you lose, it hurts a lot, especially when you pride yourself on being a hard worker and a cerebral fighter. I was just really mad at myself.”

Chiesa has the chance to wash away the loss to Luque when he faces undefeated hot prospect Sean Brady this weekend in the UFC Vegas 43 co-main event.

Watch the rest of Michael Chiesa’s UFC Vegas 43 interview above. More coverage of the event, which takes place Saturday, November 21 at the Apex in Las Vegas, can be found below.

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