Michael Chiesa Laughed Off Diego Sanchez’s Fatal Maneuver

It turns out Michael Chiesa had an idea of what Diego Sanchez was planning in their UFC 239 fight last summer in Las Vegas.

It was recently reported that Sanchez’s lone coach Josh Fabia had warned commission officials that his pupil could have killed Chiesa with a submission maneuver that they had been working on.

“”Fabia was asked to demonstrate the move, which was described to MMA Junkie as a technique that started as a standing guillotine choke but then would see Sanchez rotate his shoulders so that his opponent’s head was braced above his shoulder before slamming down to the floor and breaking his foe’s neck (described in practice as something akin to the professional wrestling move known as the “Stone Cold Stunner”).

Although Chiesa initially had no idea what his opponent’s corner had planned, he had an idea while he was preparing in the back:

“We’re in the back, and the antics are already going on through fight week, so I’m obviously assuming things are going to be a little weird on fight night – not this bad,” Chiesa told MMA Junkie. “It kind of started when Don House came and wrapped my hands, and he was just kind of laughing. He was like, ‘Man, he’s being a wild man back there,’ not really giving me details, but I’m already catching wind that things are kind of weird in the locker room. Then the person that I’m not going to name came to me and was like, ‘Hey, I’ve got to tell you, there’s talks of this crazy submission that he wants to try on you.'”

Chiesa later got a demonstration of the maneuver only to laugh off Sanchez’s belief that they could pull it off:

“I got a demonstration of what it was, and I mean, I immediately started laughing,” Chiesa said. “I was like, ‘If you think for a second you’re going to like reverse ‘Stone Cold Stunner’ me in a high-level mixed martial arts contest, you’re off your (expletive) rocker – pardon my language. But yeah, I knew what the move was.

“It was like if he had my chin, and his chest was on the back of my head like a guy would go for a guillotine, and it was like he was going to rotate and turn his back to me while still holding my chin, basically putting the back of my neck on his shoulder, and drop down. We started laughing. We’re like, ‘This is so funny.’”

In the end, it was all business for Chiesa who dominated Sanchez over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision (30-26) win. He holds no ill will towards Sanchez for wanting to attempt a potentially fatal move — no matter how unlikely — but wishes he would get better coaches in the future as opposed to the controversial Fabia:

“I’m not trying to disrespect (Fabia),” Chiesa added. “He has a particular thing he does well, but I really wish we could see Diego with like, a boxing coach and a couple other guys.”

What do you think of Chiesa’s comments?