Michael Chandler's rival Dustin Poirier has warned him that he must be careful what he wishes for in a match-up with Conor McGregor.
Chandler viciously knocked out Tony Ferguson earlier this month, and called out McGregor amid also searching for a rematch with Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. One name that he didn't mention in his epic post-fight interview was Poirier, who believes that the ex-Bellator champion wants nothing to do with him.
The pair have had a rivalry for the past few months that appears to have never come close to materialising in a fight between them. Poirier and Chandler are ranked No.2 and No.5 respectively, and both need a big showing to get back in the discussion for a rematch with Oliveira for the belt.
Asked if he found the lack of mention suspicious or curious during a recent appearance on The Fight with Teddy Atlas, Poirier said: "I thought it was. The next day I tweeted out that exact thing that he had called out everybody but I didn't hear my name.
"I'm a dangerous fight for him, I think I'm a clean puncher, I'm accurate. He called out Conor [McGregor], I think Conor's a dangerous fight for him too!
"I'm not saying Chandler is chinny or anything but he gets hurt in a lot of his fights and guys like Conor, they can punch. If you're getting hurt by Tony Ferguson and dropped by Oliveira, guys like me or Conor, if we touch your chin it's going to be bad.
"The reason he gets hurt in these fights is that you can't have an offence and a defence when you're all offence jumping forward, lunging forward. You know what they say, when your feet leave the ground in boxing you get carried out.
"Jumping around throwing punches in the air, you can't pivot or move. You run into big shots, you run in and you get carried out."
McGregor is currently out of action after breaking his leg against Poirier in their trilogy bout last year. He has been training boxing while he awaits his return to the mats and full-contact sparring.
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He has indicated that at some point he would like to face Chandler, albeit not necessarily in his next outing. McGregor will return at welterweight, but Chandler is known to be one of the top contenders at lightweight and hasn't fought at 170lb since very early in his career.
Meanwhile Poirier is still unsure as to when he will return to action. He fought three times in 2021, defeating McGregor twice by TKO before ultimately losing his title fight with Oliveira.
There had been talk of a fight with Nate Diaz, but Poirier has missed out on that opportunity due to his rival refusing to sign a new deal with the UFC. Diaz wants to fight out the one bout left on his contract, with the promotion concerned that he will take his momentum into a boxing match against Jake Paul after the fact.
