Prior to the action kicking off in Australia for UFC Fight Night 65, Michael Chiesa, Alistair Overeem, Jessica Eye and Jon Anik took questions from Australian fans at a UFC Fight Club Q&A.
Now, as is the case for the majority of these fan Q&A sessions, the questions were sub-optional – the highlight may have been a magician showing everyone a decent card trick.
Aside from the magic, the other highlight from the Q&A was when a fan asked the fighters about drug testing in MMA, and it was Michael Chiesa who had a forthright response.
“I think the emphasis [on testing] should be on performance enhancing drugs,” Chiesa said at the Q&A. “Absolutely. This needs to be a fair sport.”
Chiesa would go on to talk about how PED use in MMA has forced to fight at lightweight.
“I’m a big 55er. If was step on the scale right now,” Chiesa said as he stepped on the scale [this was right before the UFN 65 weigh-ins] and weighed 195 pounds. “The reason why I’m telling you this is I would love to save my body, and I would love to go to 170. But the fact of the matter is, [with] the guys that cheat at the higher weight class, there’s nothing I can do to impose my technique.”
“Physical dominance can overcome technique sometimes, so I have to cut the extra fifteen pounds because I’ll beat up any cheater at 155. Line ’em up.”