At UFC Seattle, fans saw two veterans retiring from the sport. After a decade-long career in the UFC, Michael Chiesa and Niko Price laid down their gloves at the Climate Pledge Arena after facing each other. Though ‘Maverick’ ended the last fight of his career on a high note by defeating Price, the promotion made it even more special with a dedicated video. Now, as Chiesa rejoiced in retirement, an ex-UFC fighter wasn’t thrilled.

Looking at Dana White and Co’s tribute, former UFC fighter Kevin Lee, who beat Michael Chiesa at UFC Fight Night 112, expressed deep disdain, believing the company didn’t treat his last fight in the promotion with the same respect.

“I beat Chiesa in his most high-profile fight in the first round,” Lee posted on X. “He’s got a hero’s send-off in the UFC, fought another retiring fighter in his hometown, mom, wife, everybody there to watch his life story. My last fight in the UFC was on the prelim of an Apex card against an undefeated, up-and-coming Russian. Chiesa tried to fight me in the locker room before the fight, I didn’t say a word. Cold game, fam,” he added.

For the unversed, Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa share deep animosity. At the 2017 UFC Summer Kickoff press conference, both fighters exchanged heated words and nearly engaged in a physical altercation after Lee spoke about Chiesa’s mother. So, with that history intact, the Michigan native might have found his bitter rival’s heroic retirement a little sour.

Now, when it comes to why Lee, who once fought Tony Ferguson for the interim lightweight championship, did not get the same send-off as Chiesa, it largely boils down to how their relationships with the UFC turned out. ‘Maverick’ maintained a good rapport with the promotion and retired on his own terms, while Lee did not. Back in 2021, Dana White and Co released ‘Motown Phenom’ after a string of losses, which prompted Lee to call the entire process a “d— move.” However, the promotion signed him back in 2023, which again ended in disappointment as he dropped a crucial fight against Rinat Fakhretdinov.

After that loss, the UFC cut him from the roster once again. So, although Kevin Lee called out the favoritism of the UFC giving Michael Chiesa a tribute in Seattle, his last fight in the promotion was not actually a retirement bout, as he was released rather than laying his gloves down at UFC like Chiesa.

That said, as ‘Maverick’s bitter rival wasn’t happy with the way UFC handled the retirement in their latest Seattle event, the fans also pointed out how they mistreated another veteran.

Michael Chiesa’s opponent didn’t get a retirement speech at Seattle

Following Michael Chiesa’s emotional retirement in front of his home crowd, fans waited to hear his opponent Niko Price’s thoughts. The 36-year-old also laid down his gloves after 21 UFC bouts, so he is no less of a veteran. However, many found it shocking that the UFC did not have any sort of tribute for Price, and he did not even get a post-fight speech.

Fans demanded some reasoning for why the UFC showed little attention to the Florida native’s final fight, and Daniel Cormier happened to explain what happened. According to the former two-division champion, it felt awkward giving Niko Price the chance to speak after interviewing Michael Chiesa at UFC Seattle.

“It was kind of weird, man,” Cormier admitted via his YouTube channel. “I didn’t know what I was going to do about Niko Price. He was retiring too, but I just didn’t feel like you could interview him after you interview Michael in this situation.”

Now, while ‘DC’ found it awkward interviewing Niko Price after Michael Chiesa, he has handled a similar situation before. At UFC Kansas City in 2023, Zack Cummings and Ed Herman retired on the same card, and Cormier interviewed both fighters after their bout. One possible explanation here could be that Chiesa was fighting in his hometown, while Price was not, which may have influenced the decision.

That said, what do you think about Michael Chiesa and Niko Price’s retirement at UFC Seattle? Did the UFC treat it fairly?