Just weeks after the death of his father, Michael Chiesa won an emotional fight on TUF Live, defeating Jeremy Larsen by unanimous decision to advance into the tournament’s next round.
The fight ended up being closer than it otherwise would have been due to an illegal strike that cost Chiesa one point. He controlled nearly the entire first round with a pair of takedowns and his groundwork, but all that work was canceled out when he kneed Larsen to the face against the fence while Larsen’s knees were both grounded.
That led to a 9-9 round score, but Chiesa stayed composed and captured the second round with his wrestling and elbows from the top to earn the win.
“This is strictly dedicated to my mom back home,” Chiesa said after the victory. “She had a rough year losing my dad. It was tough to get in here, but at least I got the win.”
Larsen questioned the decision, saying he thought it should have at least gone to an overtime round. He also acknowledged that the illegal strike affected him.
“It was rattling, but rather than just sit there and pretend I couldn’t continue … I was dazed but I’m a warrior and tried to continue,” he said.
Chiesa was the second straight Team Faber member to win, and that evened the TUF standings at two wins apiece for Team Faber and Team Cruz. It allowed Team Faber to keep control, and coach Urijah Faber selected Joe Proctor to face Chris Tickle in next week’s match.