Chiesa says he knew about Sanchez’s ‘Stone Cold Stunner’ pre-fight

Michael Chiesa says he was made aware about the “Stone Cold Stunner” planned by Diego Sanchez and Josh Fabia at UFC 239.

After UFC Rio Rancho, Diego Sanchez’s trainer Joshua Fabia suddenly become a hot topic within the MMA realm. A recent report also came out stating Fabia and Sanchez were planning a deadly Stone Cold Stunner-like move that gave the athletic commission some pause prior to the bout with Michael Chiesa at UFC 239 last July.

Chiesa apparently found out about it beforehand, as he was getting his hands wrapped in the locker room.

“I got a demonstration of what it was, and I mean, I immediately started laughing,” Chiesa told MMA Junkie. “I was like, ‘If you think for a second you’re going to like reverse ‘Stone Cold Stunner’ me in a high-level mixed martial arts contest, you’re off your (expletive) rocker – pardon my language. But yeah, I knew what the move was.

“It was like if he had my chin, and his chest was on the back of my head like a guy would go for a guillotine, and it was like he was going to rotate and turn his back to me while still holding my chin, basically putting the back of my neck on his shoulder, and drop down. We started laughing. We’re like, ‘This is so funny.’”

Despite Fabia’s talk of how devastating the move is, Chiesa felt no concern about being seriously injured.

“This is the same time I’m hearing about the burning of the sage and all the incense and stuff,” Chiesa said. “Buddy, it’s like you’re prepping to go to a yoga class or something. Like, I’m about to (expletive) beat you up, and you’re trying to figure out how to do these fruitcake moves, and you’re sticking tea tree oil up your nose or whatever the hell it was.

“I knew all this stuff was happening, and it was just funny to us. I think that for them, the shock came from the commission because they’re making a big deal about it. So they’re kind of like, ‘What the hell?’

“But no, never at any point did I feel like I was about to be in any type of – there’s no immediate danger to go beyond getting in a mixed martial arts fight, so the guy’s just nuts,” he added.

Chiesa won the fight via unanimous decision with a 30-26 tally from all three judges.