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Former TUF winner and current welterweight contender Michael Chiesa made a surprise appearance on this week’s episode of The Ultimate Fighter.
The return of the show has been met with mixed reviews by many, but in a general sense, fans are intrigued to see what kind of rivalry is going to develop between Alexander Volkanovski and Brian Ortega.
The rise of Michael Chiesa
In addition to all of that, though, it’s nice to see a few familiar faces make guest appearances, and that includes the man who won the 15th edition of The Ultimate Fighter: Michael Chiesa.
The 33-year-old is set to compete at UFC 265 against Vicente Luque later this summer in an attempt to move one step closer towards a shot at Kamaru Usman’s UFC welterweight championship.
Eight years ago, though, Michael Chiesa had one goal in mind - winning TUF and earning a contract with the UFC.
He did just that by going 4-0, including a TKO win over James Vick, to set up a final showdown against Al Iaquinta. On that night in June 2012 he was able to send Iaquinta to sleep, earning himself the official title of TUF winner.
Whether or not he can make that next step up to UFC title contention, though, is still very much up for debate.
Michael Chiesa always comes across as one of the nicest guys in the business and regardless of whether or not he’s able to beat Luque, you can bet he’ll still be a force to be reckoned with right up until the day he retires.
He’s been 4-0 since making the shift back to welterweight with impressive victories over Carlos Condit, Diego Sanchez, Rafael dos Anjos and Neil Magny cementing his status as a legitimate threat at 170 pounds.
As for Volkanovski, it’ll be intriguing to see how his role as a coach develops, with many fans having differing views now that the season is officially underway.
Still, if he’s got guys like Michael Chiesa coming in to help nurture and grow these guys, he must be doing something right.
