Dustin Poirier Talks Huge Consequences in UFC 281 Grudge Fight

Getty Dustin Poirier prepares for his lightweight title fight.

UFC star Dustin Poirier will be careful to avoid the danger Michael Chandler presents early in a contest.

The former interim lightweight champion is set to mark his return to action against fellow fan favorite Chandler at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 in the promotion’s grand return to Madison Square Garden in New York City after a three-year hiatus. Poirier goes into the bout off a loss to top contender Charles Oliveira in his second unsuccessful attempt at undisputed gold.

Ahead of the upcoming matchup, ‘Diamond’ talked about the huge consequences he could face if he is not cautious in his fight with Chandler.

“Every opponent brings something different to the table, but when a guy like Mike comes out guns blazing,” Poirier told Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports in an interview. “I have to take that into account, in training camp and how we approach the fight. I have to keep myself protected early. He’s a very explosive, powerful, athletic fighter.

“A big puncher and if I didn’t pay attention to that, especially early, it could be huge consequences so, of course, we do.”

Poirier Has Never Lost Two in a Row and Doesn’t Intend To Start Now

Having started his professional mixed martial arts career in May 2009, Poirier has never dropped two in a row in 35 outings. The 33-year-old Louisiana native plans to follow suit and get back on the winning column with a win over Chandler.

“The division is always changing,” Poirier said. “Lightweight has been top heavy for a while. We have a new champion now that opens things up, new matchups, new opportunities. But I’ve always put pressure on myself every fight, especially coming off of a loss. I’ve been fighting for 15 years, and I’ve never lost two fights in a row, and I don’t plan on starting now. I’ve always tried to put together my game and learn from losses. Go back to the drawing board.

“I’ve had plenty of time after this last fight in December to work on things to try to get better, to focus, and it’s more about proving it to myself. I want to go out there and show growth, show new wrinkles and tighten up things that I thought I was doing sloppy. So it’s always personal pressure. It’s not about the division to me. It’s about me being able to look in the mirror after the fight.”

Poirier Got Called Out by Justin Gaethje

Justin Gaethje has been on the sidelines since his loss to Oliveira in May at UFC 274. The human ‘Highlight’ reel underwent an operation to fix his nose and has been in recovery to make his comeback.

Last month, Gaethje expressed his desire to avenge his loss to Poirier in a second showdown given Poirier comes out on top of his bout with ‘Iron’ Mike.

“There’s pretty big fights going on,” Gaethje told MMA Mania. “The championship, Beneil and Gamrot, you got Chandler and Poirier. Someone’s gotta fight the winners and losers of all these fights. I don’t think I should fight the winner of the title fight but I can fight the winner of any other of those fighters. I don’t want to fight Beneil.

“Ideally, Poirier beats Chandler, I’d like to fight Poirier,” he added. “I mean, he beat me. That’s one win I’d like to get back. It was Fight of the Year, Fight of the Decade — Fight of a Couple Years, probably. That was a hell of a fight. That’s ideal.”