UFC middleweight, Alessio Di Chirico, put on the performance of his career at UFC Fight Night: Holloway vs Kattar. ‘Manzo’ came in as the underdog against ‘2020 KO of the Year’ winner Joaquin Buckley and truly closed the show. The Italian scored a blistering head kick KO over Buckley and earned a viral KO of his own.
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The end came at 02:12 of the very first round and the limited fans in the arena couldn’t contain themselves. Buckley was one of the biggest favorites on the card and he was fresh off consecutive violent knockout victories. Di Chirico certainly made the most of his main card appearance and has set himself apart from the pack.
WHO SAW THAT ONE COMING?! @ManzoDiChirico knocked Joaquin Buckley out cold with a head kick 🤯 #UFCFightIsland7 pic.twitter.com/9X0DHz1q2S
— ESPN MMA (@espnmma) January 16, 2021
Alessio Di Chirico was quite contained after the incredible KO win. However, his post-fight interview, or lack of one, confused fans. When Jon Anik entered the cage to speak to Di Chirico, the Italian hurried out of the octagon. He provided an explanation for the same, which was largely drawn out by the sound of the crowd.
Alessio Di Chirico breaks his silence-somewhat
The 13-5 fighter appeared in front of the media at the post-fight scrum and put forth clear reasoning for his stance. In fact, he was so committed to his viewpoint that he refused to capitalize off the mic time from his biggest win. However, it’s safe to say he was effective in communicating the message he intended to.
‘Manzo’said, “It was a nice fight. Guys, I’m sorry but I promise myself I won’t do this interview. I don’t like that you only interview the winner in this game. This sport is made by two people, always, the winner and the loser. So, I don’t like this. I’m sorry I appreciate your job, but I want to send this message.”
In a night full of extreme violence, it was interesting to see Di Chirico use his platform to showcase a stringent conviction. Furthermore, there’s plenty to be said about interviewing a fighter after they have been KO’ed/defeated.
It’s unlikely that the UFC will change their policy on interviewing fighters after they have been Knocked-out given past instances. Fighters are unable to effectively communicate their post-fight sentiments, and this makes for an unfortunate situation all around.
Also Read: Nate Diaz Reacts as Carlos Condit Wins Potentially His Last Fight in the UFC
