Athletes
Macy Chiasson On Motherhood, Marathons And Mind Games
Macy Chiasson Is Heading Into UFC Mexico In The Best Shape Of Her Career, And Plans On Letting Her Fighting Do The Talking Against Ailin Perez
After a 2025 that threw plenty of challenges her way, Macy Chiasson is ready to embark on the biggest year of her career as she sets her sights on the top of the UFC women's bantamweight division.
Chiasson will take on fellow top 10 contender Ailin Perez at UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh in Mexico City on Saturday night, and the 34-year-old Dallas native has been putting in the hard yards to ensure she steps into the Octagon in the best shape of her career.
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"Man, I'm so excited for this fight," Chiasson told UFC.com. "I've been training really hard. This is the hardest I've trained in my entire UFC career. I've always trained hard for my fights, but I put in marathon training, the VO2 max sprint work, getting ready for elevation. I've been out here for two weeks acclimating to the altitude, and man, I am just so pumped to get in there.
"I've always had really great cardio. But as far as, like, training for elevation and altitude, for this fight, specifically, I put in over 30 miles a week of running, following a basic marathon training plan. VO2 max twice a week, hills and sprint work, and then also accumulating on Sundays. You know, we're running 10 to 20 miles on Sunday. So overall, during the week, we're putting in close to 40 miles, on top of training."
The dedication to training comes through both necessity – she'll be fighting at altitude – and a renewed focus on being the best she can be after a year that saw her lose two fights, but become a mother for the first time.
"Last year was a tough year, man," she admitted. "I had two really tough fights (against) two girls that have been in the division for a long time, longer than I have, and I've been fighting, fighting top 10 girls for a long time, as well.
UFC MEXICO FULL FIGHTS: Brandon Moreno vs Amir Albazi | Lone'er Kavanagh vs Felipe dos Santos
"I had my first baby last year. So we were going through maternity leave, and I was in fight camps during that whole time, not sleeping, not being able to recover appropriately. Great stressors, but also, as an athlete, it's really hard, right? Putting in that work, having a kid, having your first baby, trying to figure out motherhood, it's just, it's a lot (and) takes away from the sport. This is a very selfish sport that we do, and as a woman, having a child, it's hard, it's tough.
"Trying to figure that out (and) navigate that through fight camp two, fight camps back to back, is hard. But baby girl is good, she's eight months old now. We have our sleep schedule together. Recovery has been awesome. Training has been amazing, and I'm just really ready to go out there and show people what I'm really capable of."
Chiasson is set to take on in-form opposition in the form of Argentina's Ailin Perez. The 31-year-heads into the fight riding a five-fight win streak, and Chiasson is clearly excited to get in the cage and show off what she's been working on.
"I've been fighting probably about 60 percent of my capacity," said Chiasson. "I have a 72.5-inch reach, and I'm looking to really utilize my length. I just watched Phil Rowe fight this past weekend, and he's got an 80.5-inch reach, which is insane. And I got something for this girl, man. We have an insane gameplan.
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"This girl that I'm fighting, she's on a five-fight win streak. She's really good, great wrestling. My camp is with all OSU wrestlers and guys that have trained with Khabib and from AKA (American Kickboxing Academy). But for me, the biggest aspect is going to be that length. I'm really, really excited to showcase what I've been working on, as far as staying long. And I don't want to give too much away, but our game plan it's fantastic. I'm so excited to get in there and show it."
Perez has shown that she's happy to engage in a few mind games heading into fights, and Chiasson revealed that it's happened ahead of this matchup, too. But, rather than be upset and annoyed by it, Chiasson said she's leaning into the mind games and is using them to help raise the excitement and anticipation ahead of the fight itself, where she plans to let her skills do all the talking for her.
"Yeah, she's been trying to get to me a little bit," she said. "But I've been in this game long enough. I know the bullshit, and it's like, if that's what she needs in order to fight me, then so be it. The last girl that talked shit got her forehead split open. So if she needs an extra pair of lips to talk, we can add that to her eyebrow.
"But no, man, it's all fun and games. I mean, adding a little bit of spice to it, there's nothing wrong with that. At the end of the day, we're all doing the same thing. It's a little bit of fun. But, she posted something saying like, 'No, me gusta Macy Chiasson,' and right after she posted that, I walked in the locker room, and she was in there, and she looked at me, and she said, 'Oh, hi!' And I just blew her a little kiss. Like, what kind of game are we playing, you know? But it's cool, man. I kind of enjoy it a little bit. But also, I'm not letting it get to me. I'm here on a mission. I'm here to do some work, and that's what we're going to do."
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With seventh-ranked Perez listed one spot ahead of her in the official UFC women's bantamweight rankings, Chiasson said that victory will do more than simply leap-frog her opponent on the 135-pound list – it'll re-establish her as a legitimate threat to the division's best. And, if she gets the results she's chasing this weekend, Chiasson said she'd love to rematch Irene Aldana, who stopped her with a nasty up-kick to the liver in their first meeting back at UFC 279 in 2022.
"I think it just puts me back in that mix," she said. "There's a lot of amazing women in front of me that I would love to rematch and fight. And God bless Kayla (Harrison) and her injuries. And I hope everything's well. I mean, it's a pretty serious injury, and hopefully she's not out too long. And it's also, it's great to see Amanda (Nunes) coming back. She's awesome. She's one of my idols. I think she's a great person. But, you know, (a win) puts us back in the mix. Maybe Aldana, maybe a rematch with some of these girls, it's exciting. It's gonna be a good year.
"I think I would love to get the Aldana fight back, because that was such an anomaly, man. It was such a close fight, and then to get up-kicks like I'm fighting with my little brother in the living room. Man, that liver shot, it was so crazy. I think I would love to have a rematch and get that back, maybe even here in Mexico City, because I love Mexico City. So that would be cool. That'd be ideal, you know? And of course, any of the top five women."
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To get into that position, Chiasson knows she first has to get the job done against the surging Perez. And with the Texan feeling at her physical peak, and with a gameplan she fully believes in, she says she's ready to step into the Octagon in Mexico City and deliver a big performance.
"I really see myself frustrating this girl, because her M.O. is to come in and wrestle. And I really see her being frustrated with some of the lengthy stuff we're going to be doing," she explained.
"You're still going to see an aggressive Macy, but very calculated. So, I'm not giving too much away, but I'm excited."
UFC Fight Night: Moreno vs Kavanagh took place live from Arena CDMX in Mexico City on February 28, 2026. See the final Prelim & Main Card Results, Official Scorecards and Who Won Bonuses - and relive the action on UFC FIGHT PASS!