Michael Chandler has suggested that the UFC could soon announce a fight between him and Dustin Poirier, prompting a sarcastic response from his prospective opponent.
An all-American clash between the pair has seemed like a sensible move in recent months, although Chandler had claimed that he would not fight Poirier due to his fellow lightweight ‘disrespecting’ him in interviews. “Iron Mike” and the “Diamond” then engaged in a heated ringside exchange at UFC 276 in Las Vegas earlier this month, and Chandler has now hinted that the UFC has paired them together.
“As of right now, me and Poirier are the only guys that are not matched up inside the top five,” Chandler told media backstage at UFC London. “There’s no secret Dustin Poirier and I have been on a collision course to stepping inside the Octagon.
“I have called [Conor McGregor] out [...] He doesn’t need to rush back [from injury], we’ll see when he comes back. So, I’m not waiting. I think you’re going to hear some fight news coming pretty soon, and it could be me and Dustin Poirier. We’ll see.”
Poirier took to Twitter to respond with a sarcastic jibe, writing: “The golden boy probably knows more than I do.”
Poirier was referencing UFC president Dana White’s alleged favouritism of Chandler, who fought for the lightweight title last year in just his second UFC fight. Chandler, 36, is a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion and debuted in the UFC last January with a first-round knockout of Dan Hooker. Four months later, Chandler fought Charles Oliveira for the vacant UFC lightweight belt and was knocked out in the second round.
Poirier was also finished by Oliveira in a lightweight title bout in 2021, having been submitted by the Brazilian in Round 3 in December. The 33-year-old has not fought since, while Chandler followed his own loss to Oliveira with a decision defeat by Justin Gaethje in November before finishing Tony Ferguson this May with a front kick. The bout with Gaethje was regarded by many as the UFC’s fight of the year for 2021, and the knockout of Ferguson is deemed by many to be the KO of 2022 so far.
Discussing his UFC 276 altercation with Poirier, Chandler said in London: “I walked down there with my beautiful wife and we had our seats and we were walking over there. The security guards came over there and basically said something to the effect of: ‘Hey, he’s not going to sit over there.’
“I thought: ‘Okay, that’s interesting.’ All of a sudden I heard some chirping, some very vile venom being spit in my direction. I didn’t know if that was being thrown at me or not. I look over and Dustin Poirier’s pointing at me. He obviously had a bone to pick with me that night. It’s no secret, he’s made it very known that he’s ready for a fight.
“He is thirsty – very, very thirsty – for a fight. So, he’s looking for anybody and everybody to throw venom at. I was the target that night and I was just trying to watch some fights with my wife. If you think that’s the way that you’re going to get a fight with me, that’s the absolute opposite way of getting a fight with me. I’m not here to be in physical altercations in a public forum, especially with my wife [there]. So, yeah, he was not happy with me that night.
“Be a professional. We fight in a cage for money. We don’t need to get in a verbal altercation in front of my wife and in front of the fans there at T-Mobile Arena to prove that you’re a tough guy. Either way, eyes rolled, didn’t want to fight him. If I have to fight him, if I end up fighting him, he’s going to get knocked out.”
