Niko Price on UFC Seattle retirement snub: ‘They didn’t send me off at all’
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Michael Chiesa (L) has his arm raised in victory over Niko Price in a welterweight fight during UFC Fight Night: Adesanya v Pyfer at Climate Pledge Arena on March 28, 2026 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images) | Getty Images Niko Price is speaking up over the awkward double-retirement with Michael Chiesa at UFC Seattle that led to him being ushered out of the cage without even getting to say a few words on the mic. Saturday night was set to be Chiesa’s night for a while.
He was booked into a fight against Carlston Harris with the understanding that this would be the TUF winner’s retirement fight after 18 years of fighting,14 of those with the UFC. But Harris fell out two weeks before the event, and he was replaced with Niko Price. A few days before Seattle, Price made the decision to retire win or lose as well.
Chiesa would end up submitting Price in 90 seconds. Following the win, Daniel Cormier interviewed Chiesa and then the production truck rolled into a emotional retirement video package for “Maverick. ” When the video ended, Price was gone from the cage.
He never got his moment on the mic to say so long. In an interview with Inside Fighting, Price admitted he was disappointed with how things went. “I talked to Mike in the back, we were all cool and everything,” Price said.
“Even though I had to stand there and watch his whole thing and they’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to get mic time. '” “I’m like, ‘Alright, cool. ’ Then I’m like, ‘Why am I not getting mic time?