‘Mama’s boy’ Michael Chiesa details Kevin Lee ‘cheap shot’ at UFC press conference

During the UFC’s Summer Kickoff press conference — which went down last Friday (May 13, 2017) in Dallas, Texas — things got out of hand between Michael Chiesa and Kevin Lee, as the two got into a mini brawl after a war of words.

See it all go down here.

It all started after Lee said “I know his mama got tickets to the show,” which prompted Chiesa to lash out at Kevin for even mentioning his mother. And though the comment wasn’t exactly an insult, “Maverick” decided to act before “The Motown Phenom” got carried away.

And the fact that Chiesa is a self-admitted mama’s boy further pushed his buttons.

“There is an unspoken rule among competitors, men and people in general, it’s okay to talk shit, promote fights, but you just don’t bring family into it,” said Chiesa during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour.

“People were saying that he didn’t say anything that bad, but, it doesn’t matter and the fact alone that the word ‘mom’ came up in a manner when you’re saying I better show because my mom is going to be there, you were en route to go that path,” he added, while revealing that she isn’t his biological mother, but she is still his No. 1 and is very protective of her; especially after his father passed away.

“It’s not up to him to know that I’m a mama’s boy, but you know, the media knows, UFC knows. If I win a fight, they have camera on her in the arena for goodness sake. That’s just my one nerve button you can push to get that reaction out of me. I don’t regret it at all, but it won’t happen again.”

For Chiesa, the incident is water under the bridge and says before that, he actually liked Kevin, as they both shared the mats together in the past, though they never actually had rounds together. As for the strike itself, “Maverick” called it a cheap shot and revealed he didn’t know Lee actually connected on the punch.

“I didn’t know he punched me until I got backstage, ‘said Chiesa. “I think it was a cheap shot. I’ve gone back and looked at the video, the pictures and as I am running up I get grabbed by two guys and he runs up unattended and punches me,” said Michael.

“It’s not like no one was in between us. If I had run up and there was no one intervening, he had every right to punch me in the face, becasue I told security they better get in the middle before I drop the mic and run over there. And that’s what happened. I had two guys on me and he runs up and punches me in the face,” he concluded.

Eventually, Cheisa calmed down after UFC officials advised him, seeing as how any further scuffles could lead to his fight against Lee to get pulled.

Still, despite getting hit by a cheap shot, Chiesa says he doesn’t hate Lee and if anything, their show-stealing scrap may ultimately help draw more viewers to their upcoming Lightweight bout, which will headline UFC Fight Night 112 on June 25 from inside Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

All’s well that ends well.