{"id":273366,"date":"2018-03-28T06:50:15","date_gmt":"2018-03-28T13:50:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=273366"},"modified":"2018-03-28T06:50:15","modified_gmt":"2018-03-28T13:50:15","slug":"ufc-223s-michael-chiesa-explains-why-hes-picking-khabib-nurmagomedov-to-beat-tony-ferguson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/michael-chiesa\/ufc-223s-michael-chiesa-explains-why-hes-picking-khabib-nurmagomedov-to-beat-tony-ferguson\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC 223’s Michael Chiesa explains why he’s picking Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat Tony Ferguson"},"content":{"rendered":"

9th-ranked UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa will be watching very closely when Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov battle for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 this April 7. With another few impressive wins, after all, he could very easily find himself locked in the cage with the winner.<\/p>\n

So who does Chiesa expect that winner to be? He’s leaning in the direction of Nurmagomedov on the basis of Nurmagomedov’s world class grappling ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cKhabib has got the equalizer,\u201d Chiesa told MMAjunkie<\/a> this week. \u201cWe\u2019re talking that wrestling and pressure. It\u2019s unparalleled.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Chiesa expects Nurmagomedov to come out on top, he expects the fight to be close. In his eyes, Ferguson is not likely to attempt to stop the takedowns, but rather use them to do damage from the bottom. From this bottom position, Chiesa believes Ferguson could actually win a few rounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t see Tony trying to stop the takedowns,\u201d Chiesa said. \u201cBut Khabib\u2019s going to pay for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think Khabib wins, three [rounds] to two,\u201d he clarified. \u201cPossibly a split decision. I think Tony\u2019s going to win some rounds off his back.<\/p>\n

\u201c[If] Tony wins, I wouldn\u2019t be surprised, but I just don\u2019t know if [he has] the right grappling style to beat Khabib. I think to beat Khabib, you\u2019ve got to maintain a scramble once you hit the floor and try to spin around and scramble to dominant position. I think Tony\u2019s going to accept the guard. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s a bad thing, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s the best thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Chiesa will also fight at UFC 223, as he’s set to battle former champion Anthony Pettis on the main card. Chiesa lost his most recent bout, giving up a controversial submission loss to Kevin Lee.<\/p>\n

What’s your prediction for UFC 223’s Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson main event?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 3\/28\/2018.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

9th-ranked UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa will be watching very closely when Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov battle for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 this April 7. With another few impressive wins, after all, he could very easily find himself locked in the cage with the winner. So who does Chiesa expect that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":273367,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10114,10290],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nUFC 223's Michael Chiesa explains why he's picking Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat Tony Ferguson | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/michael-chiesa\/ufc-223s-michael-chiesa-explains-why-hes-picking-khabib-nurmagomedov-to-beat-tony-ferguson\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"UFC 223's Michael Chiesa explains why he's picking Khabib Nurmagomedov to beat Tony Ferguson | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"9th-ranked UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa will be watching very closely when Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov battle for the UFC lightweight title at UFC 223 this April 7. 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