Michael Chandler believes Dustin Poirier would reject heated rematch: “He’s never going to take the chance”
UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler believes Dustin Poirier won’t fight him again.
‘Iron’ is slated to return to the octagon in the co-main event of UFC 309 on Saturday night. Back for the first time since a submission loss to Dustin Poirier two years ago, Michael Chandler will face Charles Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ previously handed the former Bellator champion a knockout loss in a meeting for the lightweight title in May 2021.
Speaking at UFC 309 media day, Michael Chandler discussed his return to the octagon. There, ‘Iron’ was asked about what could be next with a win over the Brazilian. Once again, he discussed a potential title fight with Islam Makhachev, as well as a future meeting with Conor McGregor. ‘The Notorious’ was previously booked to return at UFC 303 in June, against Chandler.
However, the UFC lightweight contender was also asked about a potential rematch with Dustin Poirier. For his part, ‘The Diamond’ hasn’t competed since a fifth-round submission loss to Islam Makhachev in June. While Poirier teased retirement following the contest, he’s since announced plans to compete in at least one more fight.
Michael Chandler discusses potential Dustin Poirier rematch ahead of UFC 309 return
Since that announcement, Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler have gone back and forth several times on social media. However, the latter doesn’t believe there’s any chance they will fight again. At UFC 309 media day, Chandler stated there’s no way Poirier will risk having his final fight be a loss against him.
“Yeah, I mean, not really.” Michael Chandler stated, when asked about his interest in fighting Dustin Poirier next. “I mean, Dustin’s got a win over me. He’s never going to take the chance in one of his couple of fights to put it on the line and lose to me. To have that stain on him, for the rest of his life. So, I know that for sure. I’m not really worried about it.”
He continued, “I will be ranked ahead of him Saturday night at midnight, when I beat Charles Oliveira. We’ve got other options. Max for the ‘BMF’ belt, Islam for the title obviously. You’ve still got the Conor fight. There’s a lot of options for me, and I don’t think he’s necessarily one of them at all. Maybe someday we’ll squash the beef, probably not.”
What do you make of these comments from the UFC lightweight contender? Do you want to see Michael Chandler vs. Dustin Poirier 2?
