Welterweight fighter Chiesa talks family, commentating in Italian and the history of Tiramisu
Michael Chiesa is a professional mixed martial artist and was the winner of the lightweight tournament on the long-running mixed martial arts reality TV show, The Ultimate Fighter: Live in 2012.
Currently fighting in the UFC welterweight division, where he sits at No. 11 in the Top 15 of the promotion’s Fighter Rankings, the 34-year-old Spokane, Washington native is a proud Italian-American, and America Domani caught up with “Maverick” to discuss his heritage, his travels, and why he has no use for 23andMe.
Where are your family’s roots and what generation Italian American are you?
My dad is 100 percent Italian. My family has always had a place to live in Italy — in Camogli, specifically. My dad was born here, but my grandfather is from Camogli where they have their apartment, and my grandmother is Sicilian.
What has your experience traveling to Italy been like?
I went there when I was very young, and again when I was 18 as a graduation gift. I wanted to go see where my family was from, so we went to Venice, Camogli, and Genoa. Then the first time I ever did commentary for a fight card was actually in Milan for Venator FC, which was a great experience. I had always traveled with my dad, with him as the tour guide. That was the first time I went there by myself — obviously, I wish my dad was there with me — but it was my first time there without him. It was cool to see the city as an adult, from a different perspective.
I want to take my wife over to show her where the Chiesa family came from.
What is it about being Italian American that is such an important part of your identity?
I had such a cultured family. I was around Italians my whole life and it’s something I take pride in. I’m proud to carry on the Chiesa family name. I think what made me so proud of it was to know the roots of where I’m from. Not a lot of people can trace where their family is from — they can go on (23 & Me) to do tests, but I can jump on a plane and trace my roots to exactly where our family is from.
I know how much my dad was proud to be an Italian, and it’s something I carry on from him. My dad’s not here today, and I take a lot of pride in being Italian because I was raised to be proud of who I am, of being a Chiesa.
What were some of the family traditions from the Chiesa household?
Dinner was an important time in the Chiesa household. Growing up, when my dad was around, every Sunday, the family met and it didn’t matter what was going on, who was up in arms with one another — the family met for Sunday dinner.
It was like that with my grandparents too — if we went on vacation, there were big family dinners. One night is seafood, the next night is lasagna, and there was pesto and veal cutlets, and the whole shebang.
What are the Italian foods that you’re constantly craving?
Anything pesto is my jam. Also, sausage and peppers; that’s a go-to for me too.I love tiramisu for dessert. My Noni told me about how tiramisu came about — it’s a funny story; you might want to look that one up because you’ll get a kick out of it. (According to the Wikipedia entry for Tiramisu: “It has been claimed that tiramisu has aphrodisiac effects and was concocted by a 19th-century Treviso brothel madam, as the Accademia Del Tiramisù explains, to "solve the problems they may have had with their conjugal duties on their return to their wives.”) What are the different places in Italy that you still want to visit and where are some of the best Italian spots you’ve found in your travels as a fighter?
You can always find a little bit of Italy anywhere you go, and I love that. Italians have found a way to have our own little community in any city, big or small — you can always find where the Italians dwell.
There are a couple of spots in Spokane, our Italian roots run pretty deep here. Down the road from my house, there is an Italian restaurant called Commellini’s and it’s famous for hiding (infamous gangster) Al Capone at one point. My sister actually got married there.
I have a lot of family in Long Island and I feel like that’s as close to Italy as you can get without actually going there in New York and parts of New Jersey.
I’d really like to go to Tuscany and some of the more rural places. I’ve been to the metropolitan areas, but I want to go out into the country more. I want to see where Marvin (Vettori) is from (in Trento). He’s from a beautiful part of the country.
Do you speak the language, outside of knowing a few curse words?
I don’t. It’s a shame because, at one point in time when I was younger, my dad had me speaking Italian. He’d be talking to his friends on the phone and he says, “Hey Michael — say this to him!” and he’d have me swearing. I could speak it a little bit, I understand it, but it’s gotten away from me. It’s something I want to revisit because as my broadcasting career takes off, speaking Italian would be a good thing to have in my back pocket. How cool would it be if I could speak a little Italian, have Marvin at the desk after one of his wins, and spit a little bit of the native tongue with him?
Spencer Kyte
E. Spencer Kyte is a freelance digital content creator based in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, where he lives with his wife. He plays in too many fantasy football leagues, is a pretty solid cook, and prefers red over white, but not in a snobby way. Follow his work phone on social media: @spencerkyte.