“Retiring wasn’t as easy as I thought,” Chiesa said. “I remember the first time I went to train after I retired was about eight weeks after the fight, and I was crying on the way to the gym, sitting in the parking lot, being real emotional. I go train, have a good time, and I’m crying afterwards. I’m struggling — it’s hard; it’s a tough transition, but once I got that phone call from Zach, it just changed everything. It was like, ‘Okay, I made the right choice. This is the right decision.’”

“Zach” is Zach Candito, Executive Vice President & Coordinating Producer, Live Event Production for UFC; Anik gives him a shout-out following every numbered event, and he’s ostensibly the person who builds the broadcast team and studio crews for every event, amongst many other things.

He’s also the one who gave Chiesa the news that he would be making his UFC debut on commentary this weekend.

“I was on my way to Missoula for a concert with my wife and two of my good friends, and Candito sends me a text and says, ‘Have you got time for a call?’” he said with a laugh, the two of us sharing an unspoken understanding that “Have you got time for a call?” texts are either tremendous or terrible news with no in between. “We’re about to drive through Fourth of July Pass and hit no service, and I was like, ‘Oh s***! I’m either in trouble or this is great’ because if Zach is offering me a desk show, it’s a text or an email. If it’s a phone call, it’s like, ‘Something is going on.’ He was like, ‘How do you feel about getting bumped up to Shanghai instead of (Road to UFC)?’ and I was like, ‘Dude, I have been dying for this call.’ … It was emotional; I got worked up. I understand that we have a roster and this was a perfect storm for me to slide in there, but either way, it’s a step in the right direction because I know that I’m gonna perform well, and I say that humbly. I feel very ready to go out there and put on a good performance.”