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UFC's Michael Chandler Not Interested in Fighting Dustin Poirier: 'Is Dustin a Draw?'
May 11, 2022
UFC lightweight contender Dustin Poirier has never been keen on the idea of fighting Michael Chandler, but the tables seem to have turned as Chandler's star power continues to grow.
After a spectacular knockout victory over Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 this past Saturday, Chandler called out a bunch of fighters, most notably Conor McGregor. Poirier took to Twitter to mock Chandler for not mentioning his name.
Chandler explained his reasoning for not calling out Poirier to Ariel Helwani on Wednesday's episode of The MMA Hour.
"Is Dustin a draw? I guess he is the No. 2 guy. ... But he's kind of just stayed at No. 2 and I don't know how active he's gonna be," Chandler said. "But I did see that he tweeted that I was saying everybody else's name but his, as if I didn't want to fight him because of technical reasons but it was more that I forgot about him, to be honest with you."
Chandler's front-kick knockout of Ferguson was the highlight of the weekend and a likely candidate for KO of the year. His post-fight promo was also well-received, with McGregor even tweeting that he's interested in a possible matchup when he's able to return from a broken ankle he suffered last July in a fight against Poirier.
"Conor McGregor, you've got to come back and fight somebody," Chandler said after his win. "I am the most entertaining lightweight on the planet. But I want to up the stakes, Conor. I want you at your biggest, I want you at your baddest and I want you at your best. You and me at 170 this summer, this fall, this winter. Holler at your boy!"
McGregor responded: "I’d have a nice knock off this guy, no doubt about it. A firework spectacle. I like the 170 shout also. Tipped him over. I’m definitely game to fight this guy at some stage in my career. I see it happening after tonight. Congrats on a solid win Michael and another barnstormer."
Since entering the UFC in 2020, Chandler is just 2-2, but all four of his fights have been exciting performances. The former Bellator lightweight champion has also shown more of his personality since entering the promotion.
Poirier is coming off a submission loss to former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in December, his second time losing a title fight in the last two years. If Poirier wants to get back into title contention quickly, it would make sense for him to pursue a fight against Chandler.