Michael Chiesa | The Next Chapter Begins

After getting his first opportunity to serve as an analyst on a UFC broadcast in 2018, Chiesa’s second appearance didn’t come until February 2020 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Then COVID hit, and the UFC’s extended stays on Fight Island became a means for “Maverick” to get some consistent reps.

“I think when I went there for the month, that was the best thing that ever happened to me because I got three consecutive reps,” said Chiesa, reflecting on the impact of manning the desk as an analyst for three straight weeks. “Usually, you get one, and then you get a month or two off, and you never really get to figure it out... It was after that that I found myself at home, and they were calling me to do a show once a month. Then I started to pick up little things like LFA, doing commentary, and once LFA took me under their wing, that’s when I realized I was juggling two careers. Fighting is what led me to this, but once it turned into a juggling act, that’s when I was like, ‘This is where I want to go next’ because it was turning into something more regular, and it’s what I love.

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“I didn’t go to college — I took a chance on myself just like every fighter does — and I can tell you how I got the UFC and how I achieved the things I did as a fighter; it’s very easy to quantify: it was just a lot of hard work and dedication. The broadcasting stuff, I feel like there is a big element of luck involved, but I take every opportunity very seriously. I do my prep, do my homework; I’m very committed to this, and it made the transition easier.”

While Chiesa always intended to shift into broadcasting when he opted to hang up his four-ounce gloves, stepping away from competing and moving into that next phase of life wasn’t as straightforward or simple to navigate as he expected.

“Retiring wasn’t as easy as I thought,” Chiesa said. “I remember the first time I went to train after I retired was about eight weeks after the fight, and I was crying on the way to the gym, sitting in the parking lot, being real emotional. I go train, have a good time, and I’m crying afterwards. I’m struggling — it’s hard; it’s a tough transition, but once I got that phone call from Zach, it just changed everything. It was like, ‘Okay, I made the right choice. This is the right decision.’”

“Zach” is Zach Candito, Executive Vice President & Coordinating Producer, Live Event Production for UFC; Anik gives him a shout-out following every numbered event, and he’s ostensibly the person who builds the broadcast team and studio crews for every event, amongst many other things.

He’s also the one who gave Chiesa the news that he would be making his UFC debut on commentary this weekend.

“I was on my way to Missoula for a concert with my wife and two of my good friends, and Candito sends me a text and says, ‘Have you got time for a call?’” he said with a laugh, the two of us sharing an unspoken understanding that “Have you got time for a call?” texts are either tremendous or terrible news with no in between. “We’re about to drive through Fourth of July Pass and hit no service, and I was like, ‘Oh s***! I’m either in trouble or this is great’ because if Zach is offering me a desk show, it’s a text or an email. If it’s a phone call, it’s like, ‘Something is going on.’ He was like, ‘How do you feel about getting bumped up to Shanghai instead of (Road to UFC)?’ and I was like, ‘Dude, I have been dying for this call.’ ... It was emotional; I got worked up. I understand that we have a roster and this was a perfect storm for me to slide in there, but either way, it’s a step in the right direction because I know that I’m gonna perform well, and I say that humbly. I feel very ready to go out there and put on a good performance.”

At the moment, Chiesa refuses to call himself a commentator, much in the same way some fighters won’t call themselves a UFC fighter until they get their first win, or some champions don’t completely view themselves as champions until they’ve successfully defended their title. But the reality is that just as those competitors can and should call themselves UFC athletes or world champions straight away, Chiesa has already been serving as a commentator for quite some time, which is precisely why he’s fully prepared and likely to crush things this weekend in Shanghai.

Between calling events for promotions like LFA and BFL, working with John Gooden on the last two seasons of Road to UFC, rotating in on Dana White’s Contender Series, and being a fixture on the UFC BJJ broadcasts, Chiesa has put in his time, taking full advantage of every opportunity that has been presented to him and making the absolute most of them every time out.

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“I feel like once I started to show some promise, I feel like the company — especially Zach Candito — has put me in a lot of positions to kind of groom me for this, get me prepared,” Chiesa said. “I don’t know if that was the intent or not, but I really feel like they’ve been setting me up for success, and that’s a good way to test and see where somebody’s ceiling is at. I think I’m starting to show that my ceiling is getting higher. I think I can get out there and sit with the big boys, and I’m gonna find that out in a few days... If I would have been in this situation last year, I’d be s******* my pants, whereas now I’m just much more excited and ready. I feel like I’m going into a fight with a lot of confidence. I had a good camp, I’m healthy, I’m injury-free. I had the right partners; the sparring was good — I just feel excited to go out and compete; that’s the best way I can describe it.

“I don’t think that if I was still fighting that this would be happening, so I feel very —I take a lot of solace in being like, ‘Okay, I made the right choice; everything is going in the direction that I want it to go. This was the right move.’ ... Now I’m back to training, and I’m crying in my car!” added Chiesa. “Now I’m having fun, and now I’m really loving being retired.”

The cherry on top of it all is something that connects back to his introduction to the larger MMA audience on TUF: Live.

Chiesa has grown up watching the long-running reality TV competition with his father Mark, who was battling leukemia, promising his dad that he would remain on the show even if he passed while his son was in Las Vegas. Chiesa learned of his dad’s passing on the show and briefly went home to be with his family before returning to the competition and winning the whole thing.

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Now, more than a dozen years later and with his fighting career in the rearview mirror, he’s once again thinking about how much this major step in his professional career would excite his dad and how it’s a reflection of the tremendous job Mark and Theresa Chiesa did raising their son.

“If my dad was alive, he’d be proud of me as a fighter, but I think he would take a lot more pride seeing his son sitting at a desk…” Chiesa said. “We watched SportsCenter all the time, and I know he would get a lot more enjoyment seeing me do this stuff than getting punched in the face. I know he’d be f*****’ stoked right now! When I did my first radio interview, he listened to it like a hundred times, so he’d be jacked! ... Knowing how good this makes my parents feel — seeing them see me close out my chapter as a competitor, still having my wherewithal, still being intact, and still getting to be a part of the sport in a different capacity without getting hit in the face probably makes them feel good, shows that they did something right.”