Michael
Chiesa hit a road block on his path to the top of the
welterweight division at UFC
265.
After winning his first four appearances at 170 pounds, “Maverick”
suffered a submission loss to Vicente
Luque on Saturday at the Toyota Center in Houston. Making the
defeat that much more painful is the way the fight started: Chiesa
opened a cut under his opponent’s eye with a two-punch combination
before landing a takedown and transitioning to Luque’s back early
in the first round.
From there, Chiesa threatened with a rear-naked choke and a neck
crank, but Luque was able to escape, transition into top position
and secure a brabo choke, which forced the Sikjitsu representative
to tap at the 3:25 mark of Round 1.
Chiesa later released a statement on Instagram in which he gave
credit to Luque while admitting that he may have placed too much
pressure on himself leading up to the fight.
First and most importantly, congrats to [Vicente
Luque]. He’s a stone cold killer and a class act,” Chiesa
wrote. “I look forward to seeing what’s next for him. It was an
honor sharing the Octagon with him.
“To say I’m embarrassed is an understatement. Physically I was in
the best shape of my life, mentally I was battling myself every
single day. I put too much pressure on myself this fight and I
cracked.”
However, Chiesa is confident that he can rebound from the
disappointment of his latest setback.
“Historically throughout my career, every time I have faced
adversity and came up short, I’ve turned around and grown
tremendously. A couple more wins and I’ll be back in the mix,” he
wrote. The goal remains the same, my belief is still just as strong
and I love every single person that supports me so much that it
hurts.”