There was something in the air at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas on Friday.
The UFC hosted its ‘Summer Kickoff’ press conference, a preview of things to come for the UFC in the coming months, and things got heated between some of the fighters on the main stage.
Arch rivals Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier got into it before the press conference and had to be separated by security, but the highlight of the show was, without a doubt, the wild altercation between top lightweight contenders Kevin Lee and Michael Chiesa.
After Lee had made a comment about Chiesa’s ‘momma’ buying tickets for their showdown at UFC Fight Night 112, Chiesa exploded and charged straight at his opponent. Security quickly restrained ‘Maverick’ but Lee managed to land a crisp overhand right.
UFC president Dana White couldn’t help but laugh at the scuffle in the post-conference media scrum and told reporters that he isn’t sure what course of action to take.
“I heard that Chiesa said, ‘If that’s as hard as he hits, he’s in big trouble when we meet,’” White said jokingly, per Dan Strupp and Ken Hathaway of MMA Junkie. “The worst one was Lee hitting Chiesa. “That was a big one, when you actually land a solid punch.
” … I don’t know. I’ll go back and look at everything and talk to my team. We’ll figure it out.”
The Nevada State Athletic Commission fined Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz for their water bottle throwing fiasco at the UFC 202 pre-fight press conference, but it remains to be seen whether the Texas Athletic Commission will take any action against Lee or Chiesa.
UFC Fight Night 112, which features Chiesa vs. Lee as the headlining bout, takes place on June 25 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City.
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