Getty Conor McGregor & Dustin Poirier
UFC lightweight star Dustin Poirier sees himself and Conor McGregor as dangerous fights for Michael Chandler.
Speaking with renowned boxing trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas during a recent episode of “THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas,” “The Diamond” gave his take on Chandler. He pointed out that “Iron” has been dropped by multiple fighters inside the Octagon, including most recently by Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 last month.
Poirier said that if Chandler can get rocked by the likes of Ferguson and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, then fighting either himself or McGregor could “be bad” for Iron.
“I’m a dangerous fight for him,” Poirier said via MMA Junkie. “I think I’m a clean puncher, accurate. He called out Conor. I think Conor is a dangerous fight for him, too. I’m not saying Chandler’s 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, guys like Conor, if we touch your chin, it’s gonna be bad.”
Poirier Said Chandler’s Defense Is Lacking, Is ‘All Offense’
Poirier continued with his take on Chandler, taking aim at the way Iron chooses to fight. Chandler has been knocked down in his past three fights, which includes his fight-of-the-year candidate defeat to Justin Gaethje in November at UFC 268.
“That’s the reason he gets hurt in these fights, because you can’t have an offense and a defense, and he’s all offense,” Poirier said. “Jumping forward, lunging forward, and 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, you can’t move, you’ll run into big shots. You jump in, you get carried out.”
Poirier and Chandler are both highly ranked 155 pounders. As per the official UFC standings, The Diamond currently sits at No. 2 and Iron at No. 5.
Chandler recently said he’s not interested in fighting Poirier next, but the same isn’t true for McGregor. After he silenced Ferguson with a savage head kick, he called out “Notorious” for a battle at 170 pounds.
The challenge elicited a response from McGregor, who didn’t shy away from a potential clash in the future.
“I’d have a nice knock off this guy, no doubt about it,” McGregor wrote in a now-deleted tweet. “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.”
Poirier & Chandler Had a Recent Twitter Exchange
A few weeks back, Poirier took a dig at Chandler, who he called “Michael Chinler.”
Not to be outdone, Chandler swung back at Poirier. He did so by congratulating Michael Johnson on his KO victory at UFC on ESPN 36 on May 14. It was the UFC veteran’s first knockout win since putting out Poirier in 2016.
“Speaking of Michaels & chins. Congrats to Michael Johnson on his KO tonight,” Chandler tweeted. “1st KO since Sept. 17, 2016 – UFC Fight Night: Poirier vs Johnson. Clean KO at 1:35 of the 1st rd in Hidalgo, TX. Michael earned a Performance of the Night Bonus. #chinhistory #ufcvegas54 @DustinPoirier.”