Michael Chiesa knew that it was the right time to step away this past weekend.
Following Saturday night’s action, the likes of Demetrious Johnson have shared their thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s future after he suffered his fourth consecutive loss.
It seems clear that ‘The Last Stylebender’ is still motivated to compete and continue testing himself regardless of the results.
For Chiesa, who retired at UFC Seattle, he knew that stepping away was the right call because of a feeling he had that he shared with a fellow veteran.
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Michael Chiesa knew he should retire after Dustin Poirier shared similar feelings on his changing mindset
Michael Chiesa’s retirement bothered his former rival Kevin Lee because of how respectfully it was handled by the UFC in a rare perfect send-off for a fighter.
Unlike many others, he went out on a four-fight win streak, but recently revealed that his only fight in 2025 saw him experience something new that he kept secret until now.
“It was in the Court McGee fight,” Chiesa told Uncrowned. “It was the first time in my life that I held myself back from pulling the trigger and going hard. And it was out of fear. I was scared of getting hurt and losing. That was the first time I’d ever felt like that in a fight, and it held me back from taking chances that I would have taken when I was younger.”
The following month, Dustin Poirier made similar comments following his loss to Max Holloway which ended his career, which then impacted Chiesa.
“I was working with Dustin when he said that and I immediately thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s exactly how I felt,’” Chiesa said. “It was that feeling like, instead of pushing for it and going for the finish and trying to put a stamp on the fight, I held myself back for the first time in my life. And that seemed like a sign that, OK, the end is here.”
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Chiesa may not have zero regrets about his career but many have argued that this is the best time for him to walk away because he won’t get a better ending to his run than that.
A first round submission win over Niko Price in front of his home fans meant that ‘Maverick’ went out while the admiration for him was arguably at its peak.
He may have been on an impressive run but only he…
2026-04-02 04:59:00
