“I’m very pleased, but I wanted a finish. I’m a finisher, but he’s still Diego Sanchez.”
Michael Chiesa mopped the floor with Diego Sanchez in the opening bout of last night’s UFC 239 pay-per-view in Las Vegas, dominating The Ultimate Fighter one winner enroute to a unanimous decision.
Chiesa became the first man to dominate Sanchez in the grappling department but, despite this impressive feat, the 31-year-old is still a little disappointed he wasn’t able to lock in a submission and secure the finish.
“Diego’s a tough guy. He took me to some pretty deep waters,” Chiesa said at a UFC 239 post-fight media scrum on Saturday, per MMA Junkie’s Matt Erickson and Ken Hathaway. “I’m tired. I’m very pleased, but I wanted a finish. I’m a finisher, but he’s still Diego Sanchez. He’s a wild man. I’m very blessed to come out with the win.”
With two straight wins over two UFC legends in Diego Sanchez and Carlos Condit, Chiesa would like a fresh, top-ten welterweight in his next fight inside the Octagon.
“Top 10 next. I won’t accept anything less,” Chiesa continued. “I usually have a name in mind, but I don’t tonight. I didn’t want to look past Diego. I’m going to let the UFC decide, but be ready if you have a number next to your name. This is the weight class (in which) I can win a world championship.”
Expect Chiesa, a former top-ten lightweight contender, to surge into the official top-fifteen welterweight rankings after the UFC updates its website.