Macy Chiasson picked up arguably the biggest win of her UFC career with victory over former title challenger Mayra Bueno Silva at UFC 303, but admitted that she still has a little more work to do before she’s ready for a shot at championship gold.
“There’s more to do,” she told UFC.com backstage after her injury TKO victory in her main card matchup.
“2023, right, I had a year and a half off, but I didn’t stop training. I just didn’t know when I was going to fight again (or) if I was gonna fight again.
“And I think that changed me, because I didn’t have an end goal. I just kind of trained day-in, day-out without any clue of what was next. That’s something that I feel like I needed and it’s helped me grow, and t feels good to leave the cage tonight with a win, but not quite the way I wanted to.”
The fight ended after an elbow from Chiasson left Bueno Silva with a nasty cut on her brow that, after inspection from a cageside doctor, forced her out of the bout. It meant that Chiasson claimed the injury TKO win, but it wasn’t as decisive a victory as she was hoping for.
“It was an awesome elbow, but no one really wants to get out of a fight not feeling fulfilled completely, right?’ she said.
“I wish we could have done a little bit more, but the ref did a good job by stopping it, and I think it was appropriate.”
While the finish may not have been as decisive as she would have liked, Chiasson’s all-round performances have certainly started to catch the eye. Her well-rounded skills have turned her from a talented prospect to a legitimate threat to the division’s best, and her victory over one of the division’s top-ranked contender only goes to show that Chiasson is ready to jump to the next level and put herself in the frame for a future title shot.
“I think I did pretty good at a little bit of everything,” she said.
“I’ve been working. I consider myself a mixed martial artist to the core, and I study every single martial art there is – striking, ground and wrestling. And I work with the best of the best. My coaches are the best in the world. And I truly I put all my faith and belief in them and I train with them every single day and I just work on getting my craft all the way around better.
“I can stand, I can go to the ground, we can wrestle, we’re can do jiu-jitsu, I can throw elbows in guard. I just think I showed that I’m a complete fighter.”
With her skillet now looking as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and with a win over a recent title challenger, Chiasson has positioned herself among the division’s contenders at 135 pounds. And, if an opportunity presents itself to face reigning champion, and former foe, Raquel Pennington, Chiasson says she’ll be honoured to face her.
“I fought Raquel years ago, and I was a different person then,” she said.
“We both were. We’ve both grown. I like Raquel a lot. I think I think she’s an awesome champ, I think she’s an awesome person, and it would be an honour to fight her.”
Chiasson may need another win before she’s fully positioned as a potential title challenger, but she stopped short of calling for a specific opponent for her next outing.
Her approach has always been to let the matchmakers do their work and, when UFC matchmaker Mick Maynard picks up the phone, he and Chiasson are usually on the same page.
“I’m just not good at call outs,” she smiled.
“Mick always sends me something and I’m like, yeah, he’s got the right idea. So my matchmaker Mick, and Dana, they know what they want for met? And I’m here to just take it.
“Whatever they want to throw my way, let’s do it.”
