Dustin Poirier thinks Michael Chandler needs to prove he’s worthy of a top contention spot at lightweight.
Former Bellator champion Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) meets Paddy Pimblett (22-3 MMA, 6-0 UFC) in Saturday’s five-round UFC 314 co-headliner (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) at Kaseya Center in Miami.
Chandler has fought elite competition since joining the UFC roster, but has struggled as of late. One of those losses came in a submission to Poirier at UFC 281, and “The Diamond” thinks Chandler needs to win if he wants to remain in the upper echelon of lightweight.
“To me, as a fighter and a fan, Chandler is at a crossroads here,” Poirier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy.” “He’s taking on a young guy who has a lot of hype, but his track record has been kind of rocky in the UFC. He came over, right out the gate, big win, then up and down, up and down. This is a big test for Chandler to show he deserves to be at the top of the division.”
Poirier knows what it’s like to stop a rising contender in his tracks after knocking out Benoit Saint Denis at UFC 299. So, “The Diamond” can relate to Chandler’s must-win situation.
“He’s been at the top of the lightweight conversation since he got into the UFC with his win over Dan Hooker,” Poirier said. “It’s been downhill since then, but does he deserve to be in the top five. He’s been a staple for the last couple of years in the top five of the division, he can’t lose this fight.
“If he goes out there and wins this fight, OK, this guy maybe deserves to be in there, but he has to do something big after that. And for Paddy, if he beats Michael Chandler, now he’s fighting the top five.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 314.
