All About Momentum

Alessio Di Chirico KO's Oluwale Bamgbose with a clinical knee! #UFCWinnipeg https://t.co/BKrRoFjuah

— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) December 16, 2017

Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight Alessio Di Chirico has a singular focus: maintain his momentum inside the Octagon for as long as he can. The Gloria Fight Center representative authored his first finish with the promotion in his most recent appearance, as he leveled Oluwale Bamgbose with a massive second-round knee strike at UFC on Fox 26 in December.

“The atmosphere before the fight was tense,” Di Chirico told Sherdog.com. “I felt like I was at a crossroads in my life: Either I’d win, or I’d have to go home. I had a well-rounded fighter and a very strong guy in front of me. I respected his physicality very much, but in my opinion, he underestimated me. He fought too elusively because he was afraid to gas out. I noticed that this is a trend now in MMA, to work on your footwork a lot and concentrate just on the striking. Sometimes, it feels like watching a boxing match.”

The highlight-reel finish improved Di Chirico to 11-2 overall and evened his UFC record at 2-2. He also showed off his personality in a memorable post-fight interview, offering up his imitation of “The Family Guy” character Peter Griffin -- in Italian.

“The idea came to me while I was joking with my American friend Johnny Eblen,” Di Chirico said. “American people believe that Italian people speak like that, gesticulating a lot. Let’s be honest here, this is partially true. I told him if I won I would do Peter Griffin’s imitation, and he was like, ‘There’s no way you would do that in the UFC.’ My only intent was to get a laugh out of my friend, so I was surprised that it went viral on UFC social media.”

An aura of mystery still surrounds Di Chirico, given that fact that he does not speak to the media much. He follows an old-school mentality, preferring to let his actions in the cage do his talking.

“I’m a private person myself. I don’t like to be in the spotlight very much,” Di Chirico said. “I am an athlete. I prefer to express myself with my performance in the Octagon rather than with my words. Yet I understand the importance of the media. There are some guys who are really comfortable in front of the cameras, and they can really entertain you. My good friend Carlo Pedersoli Jr. is like that.”

Di Chirico will face Julian Marquez at “The Ultimate Fighter 27” Finale on July 6 in Las Vegas. Marquez rose to prominence on Dana White’s Tuesday Night Contender Series, knocking out Phil Hawes with a head kick. On a five-fight winning streak, “The Cuban Missile Crisis” submitted Darren Stewart in his UFC debut on Dec. 16, not long after Di Chirico cut down Bamgbose on the same card.

“We warmed up in the same room,” Di Chirico said. “He is bigger than me, and he is very strong physically; he has a good chin. I am preparing to strike with him, and I think it will be a striking match. For my next match, I’m working with Giovanni De Carolis, a former WBA world champion. He’s an expert, and he’s helping me fix a couple of things. Working with champions can really make you understand that even a small detail can make a great difference.”

Di Chirico remains attached to his home country and decided to undertake his training camp in Rome. He has trained in the United States but admits he did not feel comfortable doing so.

“I chose to train mainly in Italy, and for now, the results have been good,” Di Chirico said. “I think this is a very good time for MMA in Italy. The UFC signed recently Carlo, and I think my teammate Mauro Cerilli, the Cage Warriors heavyweight champion, is close to getting a call. We’re a good team and we’ve developed good synergy with head coach Lorenzo Borgomeo.”