Last Saturday at UFC on FOX 19 in Tampa, Florida, one of the brightest stars of the Pacific Northwest’s MMA community, Michael Chiesa, was back in action. This time out, Chiesa would be squaring off against the number seven-ranked fighter in the UFC’s lightweight division, Beneil Dariush. Chiesa has spent the last couple of years on the outside looking in when it comes to the lightweight top ten. Lacking the type of signature win that would catapult him up the rankings, Chiesa came into this matchup looking to secure back to back finishes for the first time since early 2013.
Early on in this contest, he appeared outmatched on the feet, but his takedown defense and hips seemed strong against the shot of Dariush, who is known to have a solid wrestling game. After being outworked in the first round, Chiesa used his size advantage to force the fight to the mat where he quickly transitioned to the back of Dariush. He then delivered a crushing squeeze across the jaw of his opponent that would force the tap early in the second round.
In my opinion, this was just the type of marquee win that Chiesa needed to prove his value to the lightweight division. Not only did this win move him up five spots in the official UFC rankings from fourteen to nine, it showed just how well he handles adversity. Moving forward and remaining active will be salient for Chiesa if he hopes to continue climbing the rankings. With the exception of Khabib Nurmagomedov, most of the fighters inside the top ten are very active and it will be hard for him to leapfrog those fighters if he doesn’t fight at least three times a year. Assuming Chiesa has two more fights in him this year, there are no shortages of matchups that would be both challenging and beneficial for the fighting pride of Spokane Valley, Washington. Here are my top three matchups for Chiesa going forward.
- Michael Johnson
Johnson shared the number seven slot in the top ten with Beneil Dariush. Chiesa would silence almost all critics with a win in this fight. Johnson was steadily climbing the ranks before he dropped a pair of decision losses to Nate Diaz and Dariush. A very well rounded fighter whose striking has nearly caught up with his exceptional wrestling, Johnson is often lauded for his athleticism and is a handful for almost anyone at 155 pounds. That being said, the majority of his professional losses have come via submission, and that bodes well for Chiesa. If Chiesa can use his size advantage to get this fight to the ground, he would have an excellent chance to walk away with a submission victory.
- Anthony Pettis
Like Johnson, Pettis is coming off of back-to-back losses. This could be bad for Chiesa as Pettis, the former lightweight champ and current number three-ranked lightweight, will be in desperation mode. That being said, the blueprint for beating Pettis has been well established; Chiesa would need to bring a wrestling heavy attack to this fight to stifle the offense of Pettis. Chiesa will again have the size advantage, which should help him impose his game. The trick in this matchup will be cutting off the cage as Pettis uses his speed and footwork to try and keep the fight on the feet. A win over Pettis would most certainly be a feather in the cap of Chiesa.
- Dustin Poirier
This fight is kind of a wildcard because it would have Chiesa facing off against a fighter who is currently outside the top ten. Poirier sits at number eleven at lightweight but don’t let that fool you – he has top five potential. Currently riding a three fight win streak, Poirier is 6-1 in his last seven fights with his lone loss coming to featherweight champ Conor McGregor. Poirier brings a similar skill set to the cage as Pettis but has the momentum that Pettis is lacking and slightly better takedown defense. Poirier has a well-respected submission game, so it would be interesting to see how Chiesa and his camp would game plan for this matchup. Again, Chiesa would have the size advantage and should he be able to bully Poirier throughout the fight he could potentially grind out a win.
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