The UFC’s featherweight division is slowly beginning to make some progress, with recent signings of Bea Malecki and Felica Spencer, one name conspicuously absent is Macy Chiasson, winner of The Ultimate Fighter 28 featherweight tournament. Instead of fighting at featherweight, Chiasson has opted to enter the UFC’s bantamweight division, first defeating Gina Mazany at UFC 235 and most recently defeating Sarah Moras last Saturday at UFC Ottawa, a fight that came with its scares, but Chiasson remained unrattled (Transcript via Cagesidepress.com):
“She didn’t surprise me,” Chiasson told reporters backstage following UFC Ottawa. “We knew she was going to be a tough fight, we knew she was going to be one of the harder fights for us,” she said post fight, speaking to media outlets including Cageside Press. “She’s a UFC veteran, she’s got great jiu-jitsu, and we weren’t sleeping on her.”
Now 2-0 in the bantamweight division following this victory, it would appear that
Chiasson is committed to her new home at 135, but that doesn’t mean the re-entrance to 145 is permanently locked.
“Yeah it could be,” Chiasson said if returning to featherweight is an option.. “Absolutely. I actually fought Felicia Spencer as an amateur. And it was a great fight. Willing to take those routes if they’re there.”
Someone who made an impassioned plea for Chiasson to move back up to 145 is former featherweight champion Cris Cyborg after Chiasson struggled on the scales prior to her fight at UFC Ottawa.
“Extreme weigh cuts are the biggest danger in the sport of MMA,” Cyborg wrote. “This fighter is a Featherweight. Save your health and help create a sport with equal opportunities for women at the same time.”
Chiasson attributes these hardships to accepting the fight on short notice, and that given full eight weeks of notice, the cut would have gone much smoother. She also points out that the weight was eventually made, regardless of how difficult it may have been. As for Cyborg, Chiasson’s response was brief, yet direct:
“I don’t really care what (Cyborg) says. We’re doing what we do at 135.”
Do you believe Macy Chiasson should move up to the featherweight division?
