Some quotes:
On missing out on UFC 223 and watching it from his hotel
“Well, first and foremost, I didn’t attend the event, I didn’t actually go to the fights, I watched them from my hotel room. But it was devastating, man. I trained really hard. This was my first time I’ve done a full training camp in Las Vegas, first time I did a full training camp at the UFC Performance Institute. You know, my dad was born in Brooklyn and he’s not with us now, so fighting in Brooklyn had some deep meaning to me and I was very proud that I’d get the opportunity to fight where my dad was born. So, it was definitely tough, it was a hard pill to swallow, and you know, it still hasn’t digested yet. I should be on to new blood right now, but I’m having to stay focused on Anthony. It hasn’t been hard, he’s a really tough competitor, but I really was very well prepared for that fight. I mean, it’s a bummer that I didn’t get to go out and show the world on April 7th the product that I was going to bring to the octagon, but you know, you gotta look at it as the glass is half full, you know what I mean? I’m getting the opportunity to fight in Vegas, same guy. It gives me another training camp to be here at the PI and improve myself as a fighter, as a human being, you know what I mean? So, I can’t look at the negatives, I gotta focus on the positives, and ultimately everything is gonna work itself out.”
Who Michael thinks the true 155 champion is out of McGregor, Ferguson or Khabib
“First and foremost, all three guys are elite, world class fighters. Let’s get that out there right away before I answer. All three guys are world class, all three guys are elite, top of the heap for sure. But in my eyes, Tony Ferguson’s the champion. I mean, his win streak has a lot of prestigious names to it. You know, he beat Kevin (Lee), he beat Rafael dos Anjos, he beat Edson Barboza, he’s got that long laundry list of guys in his win streak.”
“So, I look at Tony as the champion. But, you know, I’m not taking anything away from Khabib. He’s got, what, 25-0, 26-0 record all together? So, his win streak’s insane, but I look at Tony as the champion. Now, if Tony and Khabib fight, who knows how that fight goes, but just in my eyes I think that Tony’s the champion.”
If Chiesa would rather fight Tony because of his legitimacy or McGregor because of the UFC 223 incident
“Actually, of all the guys, I’d rather fight Tony. Just because Tony and I were supposed to fight in 2016 and that never came to fruition. And I look at Tony as the toughest match-up for me. With that being said, I think him being the toughest match-up for me will bring out the best in me. I’m the type of guy where I feel like if you throw me in against the guy that’s gonna be my hardest match-up, I think that’s gonna bring out the best in me, and I know that the best of me can beat anybody on any given day to become the world champion. So, Tony is the fight that I like for myself.”
