ABSOLUTE CHAOS AND FANFARE AFTER PEÑA WON
#UFC269 pic.twitter.com/e0dNAdKBkn— ESPN MMA (@espnmma)
December 12, 2021
Julianna
Pena’s upset victory over Amanda
Nunes shocked fans and fighters alike, but Michael
Chiesa’s attempt to celebrate with his teammate, while well
intended, ultimately was a moment to forget.
When Pena submitted Nunes with a rear-naked choke in the
second-round in the UFC
269 co-main event, video footage from promotion broadcast
partner ESPN captures Chiesa climbing over the railing in an
attempt to rush the Octagon in the immediate aftermath of the
fight. According to UFC president Dana White, Chiesa suffered some
minor cuts and bruises before being escorted out of the arena by
police. The incident was later confirmed by
MMAFighting.com with someone from Chiesa’s camp.
“How do I say this without embarrassing the guy,” White said at the
UFC 269 post-fight press conference. “He had a little bit too much
to drink this evening. When she won, he freaked out and tried to
jump into the Octagon and fell down on his face, cut his eye and
busted his eye open, then was arguing with the police that he
needed to get into the Octagon and be with her, because that’s his
teammate.
“[The police] dragged him out, got him outside and calmed him down
in the back, and I went back and talked to him for a minute, and
we’re all good.”
Chiesa and Pena are training partners at the Spokane, Wash.-based
camp Sikjitsu. Chiesa, who serves as a guest analyst for the UFC on
occasion, is coming off a decision loss to Sean Brady
at UFC Fight Night 198 on Nov. 20.