Macy Chiasson credits 'TUF' experience for making UFC on ESPN+ 9 turnaround possible
OTTAWA, Ontario – Macy Chiasson will face the shortest turnaround of her professional career when she competes at UFC on ESPN+ 9. Fortunately, she’s equipped for it.
How so? Chiasson (4-0 MMA, 2-0 UFC) credits her experience on Season 28 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, on which she fought three times in roughly five weeks to earn a six-fight UFC contract.
However, there’s some key differences from that situation to the one leading into her bantamweight matchup with Sarah Moras (5-4 MMA, 2-3 UFC).
Following a win at UFC 235 in March, Chiasson said she got the call roughly four weeks out when Moras’ original opponent withdrew from the card. The condensed camp and weight cut was a challenge, Chiasson admitted, but one she was prepared to conquer.
“This is the fastest I’ve got back into a professional fight,” Chiasson told MMA Junkie. “It’s super intense because we try to mash so much training and prep into four weeks. You never have enough time to take a day off, to recover. … It does get a little bit stressful, but I do really enjoy that. I enjoy the fact my coach puts me through those mental and physical stress factors because it allows me to grow as far as my career and my change.”
UFC on ESPN+ 9 takes place Saturday at Canadian Tire Centre. The entire card streams on ESPN+.
Chiasson expressed gratitude to her team at Fortis MMA for making her ability to make a turnaround for UFC on ESPN+ 9. She said coach Sayif Saud has put together an environment that’s allowed her to thrive in training.
“Everyone that is in there (at Fortis MMA), we’re in there to work,” Chiasson said. “No one is there to be friends at the moment, even though we’re all friends and we all love each other. The environment coach has set for us, it’s really unlike any other. I’ve never experienced it at any other gym. We all walk in there, we look at each other right in the eye and we’re all like, ‘We’re going to die today.’ It’s like that every single practice and it’s super important.”
Chiasson may only have four professional fights to her credit, but she appears to have all the tools to eventually become a player in the bantamweight division. She said her “veteran” opponent Moras is a good test as she continues to build in her career.
The American won’t get ahead of herself by talking about top-ranked names or the champion, but she said she likes how her career is going so far and a victory over Moras at UFC on ESPN+ 9 will mean the puzzle pieces are continuing to fall into place.
“It’s just taking the right routes and being smart about things,” Chiasson said. “As of right now, the last four weeks the way I’ve been peaking we don’t see too much of a downfall fighting those (top ranked) people. We’re going to keep working that mountain and climbing on up.”
For more on UFC on ESPN+ 9, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.