Michael Chiesa Rips Conor McGregor After Bus Attack at UFC 223: ‘F— Him’
Michael Chiesa isn’t forgiving or forgetting what Conor McGregor did ahead of UFC 223.
Just two days before the event took place, McGregor stormed through the Barclays Center in Brooklyn in an attempt to go after Khabib Nurmagomedov after he was involved in an incident earlier in the week with his teammate and friend Artem Lobov.
McGregor and his entourage never got their hands on Nurmagomedov but the former two-division UFC champion did manage to toss a moving dolly through a bus window that injured both Chiesa and flyweight contender Ray Borg.
Chiesa suffered cuts to his face that forced him out of his scheduled bout against Anthony Pettis but even worse the former “Ultimate Fighter” winner believes McGregor probably cost him a shot at the title.
Prior to fight week beginning, former interim champion Tony Ferguson suffered an injury that forced him out of the main event and then featherweight king Max Holloway was pulled from the card over concerns about his weight cut to get down to 155 pounds.
That left Nurmagomedov without an opponent for the main event and Chiesa believes he would have gotten the chance to fight for the title if not for McGregor’s careless act that left him unable to compete.
“I lost a title shot. I have proof. I was the highest-ranked guy on the card. I would have stepped in to fight Khabib at the drop of a dime,” Chiesa said when speaking to the media on Thursday in Las Vegas. “I’ve always loved the fight with Khabib. Bless his heart, he’s a cool ass guy. But this is a sport and I’ve always liked the way I matched up against him and I got f–ked out of that opportunity. I don’t really have too many kind things to say to [Conor McGregor]. You work your whole life for those kinds of opportunities. Do I want mine on short order? No, I’d love a training camp. Like I said, if they walk in the door now and say, ‘Hey, do you want to fight for the title in the next 10 minutes?’ I’m out the door, I’m warming up, I’m ready to go.
“To lose the opportunity, that’s tough. You know how this sport works, guys. Opportunities like that don’t come along. I could strike along 15 wins in a row and still not get a title shot and I lost my opportunity and my dream. I hope that I’m gonna fight my ass off to earn it back starting on July 7 against Anthony Pettis. But yeah, tough pill to swallow.”
In the aftermath of the melee in Brooklyn, McGregor was arrested and currently faces three misdemeanor assault charges as well as one felony count for criminal mischief for his part in the altercation.
It’s not likely McGregor will do any jail time as a result of his actions as his attorneys are currently working on a plea deal with prosecutors with the Irish superstar expected back in court at the end of July.
While McGregor has said very little about the incident, he did reach out to some of the fighters affected by his behavior and issued apologies including one sent to strawweight champion Rose Namajunas over Instagram.
Chiesa says he never heard from McGregor and doesn’t expect to get an apology over his ludicrous behavior.
“No, I haven’t heard from him,” Chiesa said. “So, f–k him. I don’t really got a lot to say to the guy.”
Chiesa will attempt to get back on track with his career next weekend at UFC 226 in a rescheduled bout against Pettis after their fight was scrapped back in April.
