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Michael Chiesa will be entering the Octagon for the first time in 2021, later this month. In the second main event of the year, Chiesa will face a very tough challenger in Neily Magny and the two men will look to make a statement in their welterweight showdown.
In the lead-up to the fight, Sportskeeda had the pleasure of catching up with Michael Chiesa as part of the UFC Fight Island 8 virtual media day, and Maverick opened up on a host of topics.
Michael Chiesa on his experience on Fight Island so far
Michael Chiesa has been on the UFC Fight Island on multiple occasions so far. The welterweight fighter has worked on the island as an analyst and definitely seems to be enjoying the hospitality of The W Hotel.
Michael Chiesa claimed that Abu Dhabi now holds a special place in his heart and also noted that he will happily come out to Fight Island without any hesitation.
"I love it, man. The W Hotel is like becoming my second home and I'm not mad about it. It's awesome here. I love being here on Fight Island, I love the energy, I love the environment. The hospitality here is great, you know, and Abu Dhabi has a special place in my heart at this point. In the last 12 months, this is my third time coming to Abu Dhabi. Second time coming to Fight Island and this place is growing on me. It's got a special place in my heart and I enjoy coming back here. I'm excited for the world to get back to normal so that we can have fans all around the world, in all the arenas, in all different countries. I'm looking forward to that but until that day comes, I'll be happily obliged to come to Fight Island whether it is to work the desk or to compete. I'll happily come out here, you'll not have to twist my arm. I love it here."- Michael Chiesa.
Michael Chiesa comments on the differences between him visiting Fight Island as an analyst and as a fighter
Michael Chiesa is set to have his first experience on Fight Island as a fighter. Despite having visited the place as an analyst in the recent past, Maverick believes that there isn't much difference between him coming down to the island as an analyst and as a fighter.
However, one of the major disadvantages of Michael Chiesa coming to Fight Island as a competitor is not being able to enjoy the food until after fight day.
"No, I'm actually enjoying it fairly the same. I mean the hotel is great, the food is awesome. So there's certain things I cannot enjoy right now 'cause I gotta focus on the fight but when I came here the first time back in October, once I got here and got a feel for the environment. I could see myself having a fight week here, this is the place I wanna compete and I'm glad it came to fruition. I'm glad I'm out here, you know, getting ready for the biggest fight of my life, it feels very right. It's good to be out here having a fight week, the only thing I can't enjoy is the food. The food is good but once I win this fight on the 20th, I can eat all the food I want, it will taste that much sweeter when I get to eat it coming off a win. You know, it's really the only thing that I can't really partake in, other than that, it's business as usual."- added Michael Chiesa.
Michael Chiesa reveals if he possibly feels disrespected due to Khamzat Chimaev getting the initial main event nod ahead of him
The second card of UFC's Triple Header Week was initially set to be headlined by Khamzat Chimaev and Leon Edwards. Despite Chimaev being the #14th ranked fighter in the welterweight division and below both Chiesa and Magny, Maverick himself personally doesn't feel disrespected by Borz getting the main event spot ahead of him.
Michael Chiesa claimed that the primary reason why Khamzat Chimaev got the main event, to begin with, is due to Edwards. The former thinks that Rocky is a high-level fighter, who should be competing in a title fight.
"There's a part to that question, Leon Edwards. I don't look at Khamzat as the reason why that was the main event, me and Neil were. I look at it the fact that it was Leon Edwards, that's the guy whose on a tremendous win streak. A guy that arguably should be in a title fight, so I don't look at it like disrespectful, like 'Oh Khamzat's in the main event, we're not'. It's like not disrespectful to me because Khamzat's fighting Leon Edwards, that's the guy, in my opinion, is the #1 contender. So no disrespect at all, you know what I mean? It just so happens Leon's personally got matched up against Khamzat Chimaev. And there was no bickering or back-and-forth or anything between me and Chimaev, we met each other coming off an elevator, super nice guy and DC being the instigator he is was like 'Oh, you guys are the same weight class, you should fight' and we took those videos. It was fun, you know he's a good guy but no disrespect for the fact that Chimaev was in the main event and me and Neil were in the co-main."- said Michael Chiesa.
Michael Chiesa's take on Neil Magny as an opponent
Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny are right next to each other in the current UFC welterweight rankings and the former is quite aware of that. Speaking of his opponent, Chiesa believes that Magny is a tough competitor and expects the fight to be a solid affair since both men are currently in their prime.
"He's an awesome guy, he's a tough competitor, very well rounded. Very skilled, very well conditioned, comes from a good team. We've been kinda eyeing each other for a while. I mean, he's called me out after he's won fights, I've called him out after I've won fights, so it's just the fight that makes sense. I wanted to fight a higher ranked guy after I beat RDA and you know, COVID hits, the world gets put on pause, I have surgery, guys start fighting. Then once I was cleared and able to come back, he was the highest ranked guy and it just made sense. I think him and I were on a collision course to fight sooner or later, no better time than now, we're both in our prime, we're both neck and neck in the rankings. So this is a good time for us to compete against each other and may the best man win."- Michael Chiesa concluded.
Michael Chiesa and Neil Magny will headline their card this coming Wednesday.
