When Julianna Peña won the UFC women’s bantamweight title, there was no one happier than Michael Chiesa. ‘Maverick’ Chiesa and Peña are both teammates at Sikjitsu and have been friends for years. They also started out with their MMA journey at roughly the same time. No doubt Chiesa was rooting for Peña to win.

‘The Venezuelan Vixen’ defeating Amanda Nunes was something many did not see coming. It was a shock for the spectators. However, Peña was confident and delivered what she promised.

Seeing her win made Chiesa so happy that he jumped the rail. He tried to further jump into the octagon but hurt himself badly in the process. When Chiesa met Peña backstage, he engulfed her in a huge hug and couldn’t stop the tears in his eyes from flowing.

Chiesa was later heard saying, “… she’s gonna pull this off. It’s not some, some rabbit out of the hat type of thing. I’m just very proud of her and I couldn’t be any more happy for her… I started this journey at the same time as she did. I’m just very proud of her. I’m very proud of her. She’s an amazing woman, she’s an amazing fighter, very proud of her.”

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As the welterweight was experiencing so many emotions after Peña’s win, he had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Seeing Peña win may have provided Chiesa the push he needs to rise at 170 and secure his own title triumph.

What’s next for Michael Chiesa?

Michael Chiesa currently sits at #10 in the UFC welterweight rankings. He has been in a total of three fights in 2021. Although he lost the last two fights against Vicente Luque and Sean Brady, ‘Maverick’ still remains a tough fighter in the division.

There are several great opponents for him at welterweight. However, after two back-to-back losses, it might be important for Chiesa to sign the dotted line against someone he would back himself to beat stylistically. Or, he could ride on the high of his teammate’s win and put on a virtuoso performance against anyone.

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His next potential opponents could include the likes of Khamzat Chimaev or Stephen Thompson, who are near him in the rankings.

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What do you think about Michael Chiesa’s endless support for Julianna Peña? Let us know in the comments.