Michael Chiesa just keeps on rolling.
At UFC on ESPN 20, Chiesa (17-4 MMA, 11-4 UFC) kept his welterweight unbeaten streak alive when he defeated Neil Magny by unanimous decision with three scores of 49-46.
The welterweight bout was the UFC on ESPN 20 main event at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi. It aired on ESPN.
Through the first two rounds, Chiesa’s game plan became clear: tie up Magny and take him down. He succeeded in doing so and displayed strong wrestling to control Magny on the mat.
In Round 3, Magny briefly changed the momentum by taking Chiesa down. However, shortly after Chiesa rose back to his feet and resumed his gritty pursuit of control.
Round 4 was much like the first two. Chiesa resorted back to his wrestling. After he took Magny down, Chiesa maneuvered to the back before he took full mount. As the round progressed, Magny turned the momentum and attempted an inverted triangle, perhaps his biggest chance of the fight, but Chiesa escaped.
Magny came out aggressive in the final round, needing a finish to win. Chiesa evaded Magny as the clock wound down before he secured another takedown where he remained in top position for the remainder of the fight.
After the fight, Chiesa called out former UFC interim champion Colby Covington in his post-fight interview.
Called out! 🗣@MikeMav22 had only one name in mind after that!
[ #UFCFightIsland8 | #InAbuDhabi | @VisitAbuDhabi ] pic.twitter.com/dXBQcdShL8
— UFC (@ufc) January 20, 2021
“The election is over!” Chiesa screamed into the camera. “Colby Covington, your schtick is done! You’re next, boy!”
Chiesa moves to 4-0 since moving up to welterweight in 2018. The win over Magny followed victories over Rafael dos Anjos, Diego Sanchez, and Carlos Condit. The fight was Chiesa’s second UFC main event.
Magny suffers his first loss in four fights. His previous defeat came against Santiago Ponzinibbio at UFC Fight Night 140 in November 2018.
Up-to-the-minute UFC on ESPN 20 results include:
- Michael Chiesa def. Neil Magny via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 49-46)
- Warlley Alves def. Mounir Lazzez via TKO (body kick, punches) – Round 1, 2:35
- Ike Villanueva def. Vinicius Moreira via knockout (punch) – Round 2, 0:39
- Viviane Araujo def. Roxanne Modafferi via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
- Matt Schnell def. Tyson Nam via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Lerone Murphy def. Douglas Silva de Andrade via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Omari Akhmedov def. Tom Breese via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 1:41
- Ricky Simon def. Gaetano Pirrello via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 4:00
- Su Mudaerji def. Zarrukh Adashev via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Dalcha Lungiambula def. Markus Perez via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Francisco Figueiredo def. Jerome Rivera via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mike Davis def. Mason Jones via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Umar Nurmagomedov def. Sergey Morozov via technical submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:39
- Manon Fiorot def. Victoria Leonardo via TKO (head kick, punches) – Round 2, 4:08
