How Rick Little found himself in Michael Chiesa’s corner and built a lifetime bond that put Spokane MMA on the map

As Michael Chiesa tightened his grip around the neck of Niko Price, the crowd inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle erupted. It was déjà vu for UFC fans: Chiesa had done this before – and on March 28, he did it one last time, securing his 13th submission win in his retirement fight.

The gritty Spokanite closed his illustrious 13-year UFC career with the same choke that earned him a contract in 2013. But while the spotlight followed “Maverick” through his farewell tour, it rarely drifted toward the man in his corner: Rick Little.

Little spent 16 years alongside Chiesa (20-7 MMA, 15-7 UFC) as coach, mentor and constant presence through the rise of one of Spokane’s most accomplished fighters. For him, the final submission marked more than a retirement.

“It was the first time I’ve literally had fun during a fight week,” Little said. “I feel like they all should feel like that.”

It’s a feeling easier said than done. Little has endured the brutal weight cuts, grueling fight camps and heartbreaking losses alongside his longtime student and friend.

“We are going against the best guys on the planet for a lot of money,” he said. “I’m truly nervous as hell for these guys each time because it could get real ugly.”

Chiesa walked away from his final bout unscathed, defeating Price (16-11 MMA, 8-11 UFC) just 63 seconds into the first round. The reaction from Little was exactly what one would expect. But the celebration of a win came with the sobering reality of a loss: This was the end of an era.

“I was truly sad,” Little said.

Little first met Chiesa in 2007 when the Shadle Park graduate walked into his gym. “Never in a million years” did he think the lanky, shaggy-haired, skateboard-riding kid wearing a beat-up T-shirt would become a top five fighter in two different weight classes or one of MMA’s premier grapplers. In fact, Little thought Chiesa was lost.

“My first impression was he’s in the wrong place,” Little said. “And he’s going to find out he won’t like this place.”

Little candidly admits he didn’t expect Chiesa to last long. He wasn’t even one of the better fighters in the gym early on, according to Little, so predicting a future UFC standout felt impossible – especially one with wins over three former world champions and a place in the UFC record books for sixth-most submission wins.

In fact, of Chiesa’s 22 fights under the UFC banner, Little only guaranteed he’d win one of them: his last. “Walking around downtown Seattle, reminiscing, hanging out and having a good time,” Little said. “This is the last one. I think we just sat back and experienced it and then just didn’t let the pressure get to us at all.

“As you go, these fights get tougher and tougher. There was never, ‘I know you’re going to run through this guy,’ ” Little said. “How am I going to know that when you’re fighting another top 10 guy in the world? You watch the guy’s highlight reel – ‘He gets to the UFC by knocking everybody out.’ So how am I supposed to know?”

Little was glad to be proven wrong. In a heartfelt and unscripted moment following the fight, Chiesa, who was being interviewed on the post-fight show, invited his coach to the set to give him his flowers.

“I wouldn’t have any of this without you,” Chiesa said to Little. “I’ve gained my wife through this sport, my best friends. Everything I have is because you took a chance on me, took me under your wing and stood by my side through the highs and lows.”

Little was quick to return the sentiment, sharing the valuable lesson he learned from Chiesa.

“He helped me, taught me how to coach a little. Not prejudge people in this sport, and I had to learn through him too,” Little said. “Everybody had a shot after him. The one thing he helped do was take a guy like me and say, ‘If you show up, I’m going to show up, and you get a shot. When you get here, I’m going to put some time into you and see what you can do.’ ”

Not only was March 28 the final time Little would find himself in Chiesa’s corner, but it was likely the last time he’d do it alongside Sik-jitsu staples and longtime teammates of Chiesa – Sam Sicilia and Austin Arnett. The former UFC fighters were essential members of Chiesa’s fight camps and always accompanied Little in his corner.

“Everybody was a different puzzle piece, and it was Mike, Austin, Sam. We get along ridiculously well. Sam is such a different personality from Austin, and I’m different than them and Mike. It’s just a good mix and that’s cool,” Little said. “So, I might not see them again at an event like this.”

While Sicilia and Arnett once competed at the highest level of the sport, Little didn’t pick them as cornermen because of their skill sets in the gym.

“It’s such a clockwork thing having them. They know how I like to run my crew. They can tell when Mike’s dragging, when to make him laugh and be happy,” said Little. “Even though I’ve had scary Mike fights, I’ve never had a bad Mike fight week.”

Even weight cuts had their moments of humor. During one camp, Chiesa tried to convince Sicilia to give him a bite of an In-N-Out Burger. “I just want one bite,” he said. Sicilia refused – not out of cruelty, but discipline.

“And that’s what you need,” said Little. “That’s why you bring those guys with him.”

While the crew that helped put Spokane MMA on the map will likely reunite, it won’t be on the plane rides, in hotel rooms and arenas where those friendships were forged. Little will return to the corner, but the puzzle pieces around him will be different.

Even the sport has changed around him since opening his gym – new fighters, new cards every weekend, new stories – but Chiesa remained a constant, defined by grit, resilience and stability that teammates, fans and Little came to admire.

“Did he get a title? No. Did he beat world champions? Yes. Does that mean as much as a title? To me, it does,” said Little. “It shocks me that dude that walked in with shaggy hair and a skateboard – that got whupped – did that. And then when you sit back, you have to say that this guy has beaten the best in the world. And if you beat the best in the world, you’re from a town like this. Your town has to be proud.”