Michael Chiesa battles on after father’s death
By BOB EMANUEL JR. / Scripps Howard News Service
Michael Chiesa began his experience on “The Ultimate Fighter Live” on a career high.
Chiesa needed just more than two minutes to dispatch his opening opponent and join the cast of the show. Less than a week later, Chiesa’s dream was dealt a severe setback. His father passed away, and he debated whether to continue with the show. UFC president Dana White permitted Chiesa to leave the Las Vegas competition to return home for his father’s funeral.
“The loss of my dad gave me a lot of inspiration because sometimes I stop and think, ‘Would everybody have done the same thing that I did?’” Chiesa said. “It was a very tough thing to cope with. I only went home for less than 24 hours. I went home, saw the funeral. I’ve proven a lot as far as how tough of an individual I am just by staying here.”
Chiesa returned to the show and resumed training under coach Urijah Faber.
“Chiesa has this really heartfelt story of what happened to him when he was here,” White said. “His dad wanted him to be here and then passes away when he makes it on the show. He’s now here to win this thing, not only for himself, but for his dad.”
A few weeks ago, Chiesa defeated Jeremy Larsen to advance to the quarterfinals, where he took out coach Dominick Cruz’s top selection, Justin Lawrence. Before his bout against Lawrence, Chiesa had this to say:
“I wasn’t happy with my win (over Larsen) at all. I only showed a fraction of my skills. I had a lot of things I had to overcome that fight. Just to get in there and fight, it was a lot of things for me to mentally overcome. I think a lot of guys here would understand that,” he said.
“Now that all those are behind me, I’m really looking forward to showcasing my skills. I feel blessed that I have a tough opponent in Justin Lawrence. I think he’s one of the best guys here. I’m just looking forward to a great fight and just to keep making my dad proud.”
• Cruz, the UFC’s bantamweight champion, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee two weeks ago and will not defend his title against Faber following the season’s conclusion. Cruz is expected to be sidelined for at least nine months. A determination on the title will be made soon.
• Nate Diaz defeated Jim Miller recently at UFC on Fox 3 to become the top lightweight contender. He will fight the winner of champion Benson Henderson’s rematch against former champion Frankie Edgar.
“I’m down for whatever, whatever they say,” Diaz said. “But (waiting) sounded great to me.”
