Michael Chiesa Parents: Meet Teresa Chiesa, Mark Chiesa

Michael Chiesa is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. He is the son of Teresa Chiesa and Mark Chiesa.

In an interview with The Spokesman Review, Michael Chiesa revealed that he didn’t think his family took him seriously when he began mixed martial arts fighting, and when they realized it wasn’t a lark, they worried for his safety.

So when he finally convinced his parents, Mark and Teresa, to come watch him in action, he almost wished he hadn’t. “Because there I was,” he said, “getting the crap kicked out of me. I was a bloody mess.”

But what Chiesa shared that most is his father leaping from his seat and dashing around the octagon, imploring his son to wriggle free, get up, punch back. At one point, Mark Chiesa bulled his way through the opponent’s cornermen, and naturally they shoved back. Security moved in to separate them.

His father Mark Chiesa died at the age of 53, in March 2012 after seeing his son win a match that same month. He died from cancer.