How Dustin Poirier’s honesty helped Michael Chiesa know it was time to retire
Michael Chiesa felt the timing was right to walk away from MMA this past weekend. Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, lost his fourth straight fight and has left plenty of questions swirling around his future.
Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Michael Chiesa felt the timing was right to walk away from MMA this past weekend. Israel Adesanya, meanwhile, lost his fourth straight fight and has left plenty of questions swirling around his future. Demetrious Johnson weighed in on the situation, sharing his take on where Adesanya goes from here.
Even so, ‘The Last Stylebender’ doesn’t seem ready to step back just yet. He’s still hungry to compete and willing to keep testing himself despite the recent losses. Chiesa retired at UFC Seattle and later explained that a conversation with another veteran made him realise it was time to hang up the gloves.
Michael Chiesa knew it was time to retire after Dustin Poirier shared similar feelings Photo by Cooper Neill/Zuffa LLC Michael Chiesa’s retirement stood out in the eyes of his former rival Kevin Lee, mainly because the UFC gave him a send-off that showed real respect, which isn’t something you see too often. Unlike many others, he left the sport on a four-fight win streak. But he recently admitted that during his only fight in 2025, he experienced something new that he hadn’t talked about until now.
“It was in the Court McGee fight,” Chiesa told Uncrowned. “It was the first time in my life that I held myself back from pulling the trigger and going hard. And it was out of fear.