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Former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier versus top-ranked 155-pound contender Michael Chandler could be next on the books.
Chandler, who has held the Bellator lightweight championship multiple times, spoke with the media in London, England, a few weeks after his Octagonside altercation with “The Diamond” at UFC 276 on July 2.
During the scrum on Saturday at the O2 Arena, “Iron” confirmed his interest in finally meeting Poirier inside the cage and said that fans could anticipate “fight news coming pretty soon” concerning the potential match-up.
“As of right now, me and Poirier are the only guys that are not matched up inside the top five,” Chandler said. “There’s no secret Dustin Poirier and I have been on a collision course to stepping inside the octagon.”
“I think you’re going to hear some fight news coming pretty soon, and it could be me and Dustin Poirier, we’ll see,” Iron continued.
Although Chandler has continued to share his interest in fighting Conor McGregor, it’s unclear when the Irishman will return to the cage. And Chandler said he won’t wait for “Notorious.”
Earlier that day, Poirier had answered a fan’s question asking when he planned on fighting next. The Diamond tweeted: “September,October,November @ufc ?????”
Poirier has made it clear over the past few months that he’s willing to fight anyone that makes sense. After Chandler told the media that it looked like the promotion was heading the way of himself versus The Diamond, Poirier took to Twitter to retweet Chandler’s comments, which is a major indicator that he’s all-in on fighting his rival.
See Fight Disciples’ tweet below that Poirier retweeted:
Chandler Commented That Poirier Feels a Sort of ‘Ill-Will’ Toward Him
During his UFC London interview, Chandler said Poirier has “some ill-will” toward him, which he said spurred the viral incident that went down in Las Vegas earlier this month. But, Chandler isn’t giving The Diamond much real estate in his head.
“In his mind, he’s got some ill-will towards me if you will and it’s gonna make it that much easier to knock him out whenever he oversteps if he and I do step inside the octagon, but I have not lost one minute of sleep thinking about Dustin Poirier, and I’m gonna keep on doing what I’m doing until the fight gets announced and then I’m gonna go out there and finish my next opponent and become UFC champion next year,” Chandler said via MMA Junkie.
Chandler is 2-2 as a UFC fighter. He rebounded from back-to-back losses in May at UFC 274 when he landed arguably the best KO of 2022 thus far, head kicking Tony Ferguson into oblivion.
He’s currently ranked No. 5 in the division and is on a campaign to earn another shot at undisputed promotional gold.
Chandler Said He & Poirier Share Mutual Respect Despite Being at Odds
Game recognizes game, and that’s the case with Poirier and Chandler, Iron said. And if they do clash in the cage, Chandler expects there to be fireworks.
“It’s gonna be fun for you guys, it’s gonna be fun for me, it’s gonna be not fun for my wife,” Chandler said. “But I do think he and I are cut from the same cloth. All personal attacks aside, all personal vendettas aside, I respect him, he respects me.”
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