Preview: UFC Atlanta Prelims

Welterweights
Michael Chiesa (18-7) vs. Court McGee (22-13)

Odds: Chiesa (-360), McGee (+285)

Former ‘TUF’ winners pair off here in a fight that somehow hasn't happened yet, as both Chiesa and McGee look to continue proving their resilience late in their careers. Chiesa was a massive fan favorite upon winning the lone live season of TUF in 2012, scoring a ton of upsets while also overcoming the death of his father, but it was unclear how well "Maverick" would fare at the UFC level; he wasn't much of a standout athlete and generally looked like a one-dimensional grappler. But he proved to be a reliably effective action fighter at lightweight for a few years; a stunning 2016 submission of Beneil Dariush wound up as a breakout win that looked like it could launch Chiesa into title contention, but things stalled out shortly thereafter, leading Chiesa to quit draining his body and attempt a new campaign up at welterweight. The switch in weight classes led Chiesa to some higher heights, as he was clearly helped by some newfound strength and power, but he once again settled in somewhere just outside the divisional Top 10; Sean Brady was able to play the more effective bully, and losses to Vicente Luque and Kevin Holland drove home the quirk that while Chiesa is an excellent offensive grappler, he can often get caught in some surprising submissions himself. It seemed like the 2021 loss to Brady could send Chiesa into semi-retirement, particularly as he's picked up responsibilities as part of the UFC's broadcast team, but he's kept up a decent schedule over the last year and looked strong in doing so, submitting Tony Ferguson and Max Griffin without much issue.

Chiesa goes for three straight here against McGee, who's been the picture of consistency since winning his own season of “TUF” in 2010. McGee was in a similar spot to Chiesa coming off “TUF,” with his own high level of popularity -- in the case of McGee, due to his openness about and advocacy for overcoming drug addiction -- but concerns about his ceiling as a fighter, mostly due to his lack of athleticism. Those wound up a bit more warranted in McGee's case, as he's chugged along as a middle-of-the-road welterweight for 15 years, but save for a two-year injury layoff between 2013 and 2015, “The Crusher” has been impressively consistent and reliably sturdy. McGee always had technically sound striking and a wrestling game built around physical strength, two attributes that haven't shown much slippage with age; his once-uncrackable chin has faded a bit against some strong strikers, but McGee's still a solid bet to put in three rounds of strong work and force his opponent into a grind. And McGee's even riding a clear high at the moment, getting the chance to fight in his home state of Utah this past October and running through fellow veteran Tim Means. This should be a grimy fight in the best possible sense, and while Chiesa's clearly the fighter with more still left in the tank, it should be nice to see these two veterans continue to do their thing; the pick is Chiesa via decision.

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