Michael Chiesa was not pleased with his performance last night.
Chiesa suffered his first defeat since moving up to welterweight after getting tapped by Vicente Luque in their ranked 170-pound contest at UFC 265 last night.
That was despite looking good early on and even getting close to locking in a submission after Chiesa took Luque down and grabbed his back.
However, Luque escaped before countering with a D’Arce choke which eventually led to Chiesa tapping out.
Chiesa: The Goal Remains The Same
For Chiesa, it’s back to the drawing board as he was hoping to get into title contention with a fifth-straight win.
And in a statement released post-fight where he praised Luque, he also showed annoyance with himself for cracking under pressure yet again in a big fight.
That said, the goal remains the same.
“I want to jump out in front of this now. First and most importantly, congrats to @luquevicente, he’s a stone cold killer and a class act,” Chiesa wrote on social media. “I look forward to seeing what’s next for him. It was an honor sharing the octagon with him.
“To say I’m embarrassed is an understatement. Physically I was in the best shape of my life, mentally I was battling myself every single day. I put too much pressure on myself this fight and I cracked. Historically throughout my career, every time I have faced adversity and came up short, I’ve turned around and grown tremendously. A couple more wins and I’ll be back in the mix. The goal remains the same, my belief is still just as strong and I love every single person that supports me so much that it hurts.”
Hats off to @VicenteLuqueMMA 👊🏼#visionquest pic.twitter.com/ppFvWgT6QB
— Michael Chiesa (@MikeMav22) August 8, 2021
A few more wins and Chiesa should find himself back in title contention as he looks to achieve his goal of becoming a UFC champion.
