Michael Chiesa knew he needed a dominant performance against Neil Magny in Wednesday's UFC Fight Night headliner from Etihad Arena in Yas Island, Abu Dhabi.
The No. 8-ranked Chiesa went to his bread-and-butter and used his superior grappling for 25 minutes to beat Magny by a lopsided unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46). DAZN News scored the fight 50-45 for Chiesa.
While Chiesa has improved his standup game, "The Maverick" knew not to stay too long on the feet with Magny. Chiesa took Magny down time after time. The 33-year-old wasn't content with just keeping Magny there. He suffocated Magny and tried to find ways to batter Magny and try to finish him off. To Magny's credit, he survived, but that's all he did.
The win pushed Chiesa's (18-4) winning streak to four. Most fighters who won on the show didn't call out who they wanted next. Chiesa made it clear who he wanted next, calling out one of former President Donald Trump's biggest supporters.
"If I wasn't able to push through five rounds, I can't even talk about being a champion," Chiesa said in his post-fight interview. "With that being said, the election is over: Colby Covington, your schtick is done. I want you next, boy!"
Here's what happened at UFC Fight Night: Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny.
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: CHIESA VS. MAGNY UNDERCARD RESULTS
- Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) at 4:00 of the second round
- Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov by submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:39 of the second round
- Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO at 4:08 of the second round
UFC FIGHT NIGHT: CHIESA VS. MAGNY FULL CARD
Main Card
- Michael Chiesa vs. Neil Magny; Welterweight
- Warlley Alves vs. Mounir Lazzez; Welterweight
- Isaac Villanueva vs. Vinicius Moreira; Light Heavyweight
- Roxanne Modafferi vs. Viviane Araujo; Women’s flyweight
- Matt Schnell vs. Tyson Nam; Flyweight
- Lerone Murphy vs. Douglas Silva de Andrade; Featherweight
Prelims
- Ricky Simon vs. Gaetano Pirrello; Bantamweight
- Su Mudaerji vs. Zarrukh Adashev; Flyweight
- Dalcha Lungiambula vs. Markus Perez; Middleweight
- Francisco Figueiredo vs. Jerome Rivera; Flyweight
- Mike Davis vs. Mason Jones; Lightweight
- Umar Nurmagomedov vs. Sergey Morozov; Bantamweight
- Victoria Leonardo vs. Manon Fiorot; Women’s flyweight