Michael Chiesa announces that UFC Seattle will hold a farewell fight

Michael Chiesa will call it a career after his fight at UFC Seattle. | Getty/UFC

Michael Chiesa plans to hang up the four-ounce gloves in his home state next month.The winner of “The Ultimate Fighter 15” will be Carlston Harris in a welterweight bout at UFC Seattle on March 28, and he confirmed during an appearance on the “Anik & Florian Podcast” that it will be his retirement fight.

‘It’s like the universe is telling me something’

“Yes, this is my last fight. I’ve had some doubts about it. It’s a difficult decision to make,” Chiesa said. “I had my first fight when I was 20 years old in 2008. All good things come to an end. I wanted to fight out this contract. I just signed a new contract before the Court McGee fight. That was my plan: ‘I’m going to fight out this deal, then I’m done.’ It’s not that I want to go into free will – I like where I am now. I love the UFC. I have no reason to want to fight anywhere else. I want to fight the best guys in the world. The best guys in the world are here, and I’ve been competing with them for fourteen years.“But when they said they’re going back to Seattle, it’s my 22nd UFC fight, 22 is my number, March 28 is my parents’ birthday. It’s like the universe is telling me something.”

Chiesa has the opportunity to end his UFC tenure after a four-fight winning streak. In his last three Octagon appearances, ‘Maverick’ defeated Tony Ferguson, Max Griffin and McGee. The Sikjitsu product debuted in the promotion in 2012 and has gone 14-7 in the UFC overall. Chiesa has also worked as a UFC studio analyst for select events.

UFC Seattle – also known as UFC Fight Night 271 – takes place at Climate Pledge Arena and is headlined by a middleweight clash pitting Israel Adesanya against Joe Pyfer. The card will air in its entirety on Paramount+.