The UFC gave Michael Chiesa a long retirement interview and highlights package at UFC Fight Night 271 on Saturday night, while appearing to completely overlook fellow veteran Niko Price, who had also just fought for the last time in his career.
“I had to stand there and watch his whole thing, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, you’re going to get mic time.’ I’m like, ‘Alright, cool.’ Then I’m like, ‘Why am I not getting mic time?'” Price told Inside Fighting. “Then, I was like, ‘Whatever, don’t worry, but can I leave? I don’t want to stay here no more.’ Then I told my coach because they didn’t even send me off at all. They went to my gloves, and then they took a picture of him with my gloves. I was like, ‘Nooo, I wanted to do that picture with my gloves.’ He has his gloves on in the picture.”
The interview snub after having just suffered a 63 second submission loss to Chiesa, was clearly not the ideal end for the 36-year-old Price, who had been fighting in the Octagon for the past nine years, competing a total of 21 times.
Still, Price is still at peace with his decision to hang up his gloves after having had a heart-to-heart with his wife in the weeks leading up to the event.
“It was mentioned probably like 10 days before the fight, ‘Would this be a possibility?'” Price said. “I said, ‘I have to talk to my team.’ At first I was like, ‘No,’ but then me and my wife started talking, and I was like, ‘I’m getting old, man. Everything hurts. I want to spend time with my kids and stop being so selfish and spending so much time with myself.’ She goes, ‘I don’t really want you to do it anymore and it’s getting really hard on my daughters.’ I mean, it’s hard on me too, man. Even though it was on seven days’ notice, still, losing sucks.”
Win or lose, Price has always been an all-action fighter who goes in for the finish, and managed to beat the likes of Alan Jouban, Randy Brown, Tim Means, James Vick and Alex Oliveira (x2) during his time in the Octagon, while also drawing with Donald Cerrone.
The wins had dried up in recent years though, losing six of his last seven bouts, and so now Price intends to turn his attention to other things, including his fishing business, though he does also intend to still coach MMA too.
“Well, we already have the bait mobile, so I’m going to put a lot of time into that, the mobile bait,” Price said. “So if you’re going fishing in Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Naples, call us up; we’ll bring you some shiners. Yeah, we’re pushing that. I have a couple of other things I’m pushing with my cousins. They own a couple of businesses, so I’m going to jump in with them and do some things. I’m definitely going to be coaching and teaching the stuff I’ve done.”
