Focused on climbing UFC rankings, Michael Chiesa feels nothing personal against Kevin Lee

OKLAHOMA CITY – After 14 long months away because of a back injury, Michael Chiesa makes his return to the octagon Sunday at UFC Fight Night 112 feeling like a newly re-energized fighter. He didn’t always know the day would come, though.

As Chiesa worked to recover, he struggled with the decision of whether to have surgery. He ultimately chose not to, which seemingly paid off. But the uncertainty of his future tested his resolve.

“It was trying, man. It was tough,” Chiesa told MMAjunkie on Thursday. “There were a lot of times where I was thinking, ‘Am I going to have to get this surgery? Am I never going to be the same fighter?’ There were a lot of things going through my head, definitely a dark period for me. But it all worked out perfect. Everything worked out just perfect. I’m healthier than I’ve ever been. … My body is just refreshed. I feel like it’s catching a second wind.”

Chiesa (14-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) faces Kevin Lee (15-2 MMA, 8-2 UFC) in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 112, which takes place Sunday at Chesapeake Energy Arena and airs on FS1.

Interest in the fight grew last month when things got personal between the two men. A physical altercation stole the show at the UFC Summer Kickoff press conference in Dallas. It happened when Chiesa lost his temper after Lee referenced his mother while the two verbally went at each other from a distance on stage. Lee threw a punch, and the two had to be separated by security.

Chiesa lost his cool then but said it’s no sweat now with the fight just days away.

“I’ve still got respect for him. I respect him as an athlete. He’s a tough kid,” Chiesa said. “We’ve been in the training room together a few times. I never had a bad interaction with him up until the press conference. Contrary to all these interviews and the shit the kid’s saying, I was just on the elevator with him earlier. We were talking. … It’s just funny to me. It’s all funny to me. Nothing bad to say about him. He’s just a kid.”

So no regrets about how everything unfolded in Dallas?

“None at all,” Chiesa said. “I was raised a certain way. My dad was very protective of my mom, and that’s just what I was raised around. That was just one momentary lapse of character for me. It was kind of instinctive. It would never happen again. … He thinks he’s got some mental edge on me. I think he’s very, very sadly mistaken.”

Chiesa, No. 9 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA lightweight rankings, is particularly happy about the timing of his return. With UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor now officially set to fight Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match after months of speculation, Chiesa feels the division can continue moving along with the rankings at a premium.

Chiesa is No. 6 in the official UFC rankings, while Lee sits at No. 11. That means there’s a lot at stake, something Chiesa welcomes in his first fight since 2015.

“The division is almost like a clean slate. The rankings matter again,” Chiesa said. “For the first time in a long time at lightweight, the rankings are finally going to mean something again, whereas in the past they’ve just been thrown to the wayside. There is a lot on the line in this fight. A win is going to get me where I wanted to be at the end of 2016. I said I wanted to be in the top five. That’s what I like about this. It’s a refresher.”

And for more on UFC Fight Night 112, check out the UFC Rumorssection of the site.