Quotes from Michael Chiesa

Cutting weight is always rough, especially for guys like myself that make a significant cut to make a number.

If you win one fight in the UFC, you're good. If you win two in a row, you're great.

I don't think people realize what those weight cuts were doing to me. It took so much out of me to make 155. I wish I could put into words what it was like, to be able to paint the picture of my weight cuts, but I can't. All I can say is that every fight week was a complete misery.

I know I belong at 170. There is not a shadow of a doubt. This is my division and there's a clearcut path to the title.

I had never fought a guy before that I had put on a pedestal the way I did with Carlos Condit. I've got his walkout shirt. He's a former champion. I'm a huge fan. I doubted myself a lot of times.

I'm a big guy; people don't realize that.

I think Gilbert Burns is going to become my greatest rival.

I think Neil Magny gets picked on a lot because people don't think he is that good. I like the guy a lot.

You're not going to win mental warfare with me. I am one of the mentally toughest guys, if not the mentally toughest guy in the UFC.

I haven't fought for a while and didn't want a warm-up fight. I wanted to jump right back in the pit and I got what I asked for. I got Anthony Pettis.

I'd love a training camp. But if they walked in the door right now and said, 'Do you want to fight for the title in the next 10 minutes?' I'm out the door, warming up, ready to go.

I train great outside of camp but then once camp starts, it's just a constant weight cut.

My love for mixed martial arts will never waver.

I've talked to my coaches, and I don't even know if I would go to 165. I might go to 175.

As time has gone on, I've gotten bigger and bigger. My body composition has changed.

With Masvidal, I dropped him and it's the first time I'd ever dropped anyone in my life. I kind of started to turn the corner after that, and it was just a realization that if my hands were a weakness, it was only because I didn't believe in them. I had the talent to do it.

There was once a time when I was the hip necklace wearing guy.

The loss of my dad gave me a lot of inspiration because sometimes I stop and think, 'Would everybody have done the same thing that I did?' It was a very tough thing to cope with. I only went home for less than 24 hours.

I'm not the prettiest. I'm not the best, but I win and that's all that matters in the UFC.

I got as high as being ranked 7th at lightweight and I really believe this deep down to my bones that I was really only fighting to half my potential.

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.

I found wrestling when I was 11 years old. About two years later, I convinced my mom to let me rent my first UFC tape. I was fascinated by the sport.

It's never easy to watch. It's never great to see your friend or teammate put himself through hell.

170 is not a popularity contest. 170 is a working man's weight class where you work hard, you get your rewards whereas at lightweight, it wasn't the same. You could work as hard as you want, win as many fights as you want, and there's no promise what you're going to get out of it.