Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler appear to be close to a bout agreement.
Coming off a loss to the uncrowned UFC lightweight champion Charles Oliveira in his second attempt for the title, Poirier was unsure of where his future lay. He hinted at the possibility of moving up to welterweight but it seems like he’ll be sticking around at 155 lbs for longer.
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler ‘close to being finalized’
In the recent episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani broke the news of a fight between Poirier and Chandler being “close” to getting booked.
“I’m being told right now, multiple sources tell me that the highly-anticipated, much-discussed, grudge match between one Dustin Poirier, and Michael Chandler is close to being finalized for that return card at MSG in November.
“I do believe it’s Nov. 12th, if memory serves me correctly. And so, it is close and likely for that card, slated for that card. Not quite a done deal just yet but it would be UFC 281.”
Poirier also tweeted earlier in the morning hinting at the news, “Fight news coming soon!!”
Fight news coming soon!!
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) August 3, 2022
Chandler & Poirier have been on a collision course
Chandler is coming off a Knockout of the Year worthy finish of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May. He became the first man to put “El Cucuy” to sleep landing a front kick to the face that sent Ferguson crashing down to the canvas. “Iron” Mike provided another highlight cutting a stellar promo calling out the top-ranked lightweights.
During the International Fight Week card of UFC 276, both Chandler and Poirier were in attendance at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two nearly came to blows when they crossed paths as Poirier yelled at Chandler after the latter did not call him out.
While Chandler admitted he didn’t understand why “Diamond” was so aggressive in his approach, he assumed it to be anxiety from waiting to get a fight booked. If both parties agree to the set conditions, Poirier will likely take on Chandler at UFC 281 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
