Michael Chiesa calls Kevin Lee’s move a ‘cheap shot’, recaps brawl at UFC presser
The UFC Summer Kickoff Press Conference was taken over between two fighters that are not exactly household names.
With the presser loaded with top talent such as Daniel Cormier, Jon Jones, Chris Weidman, Holly Holm, and more, lightweights Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee – who are slated to battle at UFC Fight Night 112 on June 25 – were able to steal everyone else's thunder by getting into a fairly dramatic brawl that started about halfway through the festivities. It all began when Lee mentioned Chiesa’s mom during a verbal exchange between the two.
Chiesa subsequently fired back at Lee, and it seemed that he did not take too kindly to Lee's comment.
“There is an unspoken rule with competitors, men and just among people in general that it’s okay to talk shit, it’s okay to promote a fight, but you just don't bring families into it,” Chiesa told Ariel Helwani on the latest episode of The MMA Hour.
“People are saying, ‘oh he didn't even say anything that bad,’ but just the fact alone that the word ‘mom’ came up, and in the manner when you're saying, ‘oh you’re going to show up and your mom is going to be there,’ and yeah you didn't say anything that bad, but you were in route to going that path. It’s not up to him to know that I'm a momma’s boy but you know, the media knows, the UFC knows, for Christ’s sake if my mom is in attendance in a fight right after I win, they have a camera on her. That’s just my one nerve, that one button you can push to really get that kind of reaction out of me, so I don't regret it at all, but I know it won't happen again.”
Following Chiesa's reply, he charged at Lee, who was seated across the stage, but was held back by a couple of older gentlemen, who appeared to be security guards. That’s when Lee quickly moved in and landed a decent shot to Chiesa’s face. ‘Maverick’ thought the punch was a dirty move on Lee's end.
“I didn't even know he punched me until I got back stage,” Chiesa said. “As they’re pulling me back I was asking Reid, ‘did he punch me? did he punch me?’ and they were like, ‘yeah, dude. He socked you right in the face.’ I think it was a cheap shot because I’ve gone back and watched it, and if you look at the pictures, as I'm running up I get grabbed by two guys and he runs up unattended to and he just punches me.
“It’s not like nobody was in between us and I had run up and there was nobody intervening. He had every right to punch me in the face, but I even said over there, ‘dude, security needs to get in the middle of this because I'm about to drop this mic and run over there,’ and sure enough that’s what happened. It’s just funny that I got two guys on me and he runs up to me and punches me in the face. I’m not going to get on this show and talk a bunch of shit about him, all I know is that I got punched when I didn't even know I got punched, I think that’s all I need to say. It doesn't even matter anymore, it happened, I got punched in the face, didn't even leave a mark on my face, whatever, it’s fine. We’re going to fight in six weeks and that’s the best part about it, we get to continue what we left off on June 25th.”
Chiesa has no regrets about getting into a scrap with Lee, but stated that he's prepared to move on and focus on their upcoming clash.
“It’s water under the bridge, it’s nothing to dwell on, you know,” Chiesa explained. “I’ve always been a pretty cool customer, I never let my emotions get the best of me, so that was just totally very uncharacteristic of me. That’s just the type of person I am, I’m not a hot head, it’s just water under the bridge and Mother’s Day just passed, so you know, it was so ironic that this happened on Mother’s Day weekend, but I'm just back to the task and it’s all about the fight now.”