Dana White has explained why welterweight fighter Michael Chiesa was dragged out by cops at tonight’s UFC 269 event in Las Vegas.
Chiesa (18-6 MMA) was not competing at Saturday’s pay-per-view event, but was in attendance to watch him teammate Julianna Pena challenge Amanda Nunes for the promotions bantamweight title.
Saturday’s ‘Nunes vs. Pena’ co-main event proved to be a wild and absolutely thrilling affair. Amanda Nunes and Julianna Pena went to war exchanging heavy punches and kicks inside of the pocket. After a close first round, Pena began to turn the tide in her favor early in round two. She eventually rocked ‘The Lioness’ after landing a flurry of strikes and got the fight to the ground. From there, ‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ promptly locked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke.
It was stunning upset and one that Dana White dubbed ‘the biggest in mixed martial arts history’.
Michael Chiesa was obviously thrilled for his teammate and wanted to celebrate with Julianna Pena inside the cage following her triumph.
However, on route to the Octagon ‘Maverick’ apparently tripped and landed on his face, resulting in a cut. Police officers took note of the situation and proceeded to stop Chiesa from entering the cage. The welterweight veteran attempted to explain he was a teammate of Pena’s but wound up being dragged off.
During tonight’s post-fight presser, Dana White was asked what happened to Michael Chiesa and he offered the following explanation.
“No, no.. He did not get in a fight,” White said when questioned about Chiesa. “How do you say this, without embarrassing this guy. He had a little bit too much to drink this evening. When she (Pena) won, he freaked out and tried to jump into the Octagon and fell down on his face. He cut is eye and busted his eye open. Then he was arguing with the police that he needed to get into the Octagon and be with her. Because that’s his teammate. They dragged him out. Got him outside and calmed him down in the back. I went back and talked to him for a minute. We’re all good.”
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What do you make of the news that Michael Chiesa was dragged out police following the conclusion of tonight’s UFC 269 co-main event?