SALT LAKE CITY – Michael Chiesa will return at UFC 291, but if he had it his way, fans would’ve seen him sooner.
In recent weeks, Chiesa’s opponent Kevin Holland called for short-notice fights left and right. But as Chiesa (16-6 MMA, 11-6 UFC) revealed Wednesday at a pre-fight news conference, Holland (24-9 MMA, 11-6 UFC) wasn’t alone. Chiesa was secretly advocating for his own opportunities behind the scenes.
“(Holland) wasn’t the only guy throwing his hat into the ring, because when Bo Nickal was looking for an opponent, I reached out to Dana and Mick and was like, ‘I’m in shape and I’ll still fight Holland,'” Chiesa told MMA Junkie and other reporters. “I just don’t really do it on social media. I just reach out to the powers that be. He wasn’t the only one who was looking for an extra check in July.”
Nickal was originally slated to fight Tresean Gore at UFC 290 on July 8 in Las Vegas. When Gore withdrew days before the event, in stepped Val Woodburn, who Nickal finished in a mere 38 seconds.
Could a matchup happen down the line?
“Me and Bo?” Chiesa laughed. “He looked pretty dang good. I was thinking to myself, ‘It would just be a wrestling match. It wouldn’t be that bad. Then I saw what he did to Val and I was like, ‘I’m impressed.’ That guy is the future. There are so many things I could say about Bo Nickal. Obviously, I don’t want to nerd out too hard, but you look at the wrestling accolades and if there wasn’t a guy named David Taylor in his weight class, he’d probably be a gold medalist in the Olympics. To have that caliber of a wrestler in the UFC making waves in such a short amount of time, I think we could see that guy in title contention by the end of next year.”
Chiesa vs. Nickal might happen one day, but Chiesa vs. Holland is what’s on tap for now. Chiesa has had Holland in his view for quite some time and is excited to have a fight actually come to fruition in just a few days.
“I think you should expect the unexpected,” Chiesa said. “You don’t know what he’s going to do. He might even shoot a takedown. You don’t know what the guy is going to do. He’s a wild card. He did this whole standup fight with ‘Wonderboy’ for God knows what reason. He’s a game competitor. He’s a game competitor.
“He’s pretty well-rounded, I think more than people give him credit for. He’s just super tough. I think him and I have been on a collision course for a while, even when he was fighting at middleweight. He would always tip the scales around 182, 183. I’m like, ‘That guy is going to be a welterweight one day.’ Styles make fights.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 291.
