It does not seem to sit well with Dustin Poirier, that Michael Chandler and Charles Oliveira are fighting for the vacant lightweight title. However this is not something that really bothers Chandler, and he made that fact known.
When Khabib announced that he was retiring and the lightweight title was officially vacated, fans thought that Poirier would be the one fighting for the belt. After all, he was the at the top of the 155lb rankings, and was coming off the biggest win of his career by knocking out Conor McGregor in their rematch.
However in the end, he opted to pursue a third fight with the Irishman, opting to go for the massive payday instead of a world title. That left the UFC booking former Bellator champion Michael Chandler in a title fight against Charles Oliveira, who is riding an 8-fight winning streak.
Dustin Poirier Says Chandler vs Oliveira Is For Fool’s Gold
While he is not fighting for the belt by choice, that does not mean that Dustin Poirier does not already look at himself as the champion of the division. He has been saying as much since he beat McGregor, calling himself the uncrowned king at every turn.
He seemingly voiced this opinion again recently, with a somewhat cryptic message to his Twitter. While he did not outright say it was in reference to Michael Chandler vs Charles Oliveira, Dustin seemingly fired some shots at the two for fighting for what he deems at the fake belt.
“Fool’s Gold”
Fool's Gold
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) April 2, 2021
This Tweet from Dustin Poirier prompted a response from Michael Chandler. Speaking in an interview shortly after the fact, he was asked about this tweet, and while he was still respectful, he made it clear that Dustin was going to have to earn a shot at what will soon be his belt.
“I came in to do a job. I signed my name to a UFC contract that said I would render my services whenever necessary. Whenever they called I’ve done just that, and I think I’m being rewarded for it. So everybody else can take a back seat watch me win gold and then we can go we can go from there,” Chandler said.
“I think the the winner of Poirier vs Conor makes sense sometime in the fall of winter… Chirping or not, these guys know who I am. These guys respect me, these guys know the body of work and the resume that I put in. Maybe I haven’t put it in inside the UFC Octagon, but I’ve been putting it inside the sport of mixed martial arts for the last 12 years.
“So I’m not really worried about what guys have said or do say. I mean jealousy is a tough thing to deal with, so they should probably just focus on themselves. Dustin’s got a big fight coming up so I’ll enjoy my fool’s gold as much as as much as I can after May 15th.”
One thing is for sure, Dustin Poirier is pretty clearly established as the best active lightweight in the world right now. It will be great to see him prove that, if he can get past Conor McGregor and get another crack at UFC gold by facing the winner of Michael Chandler vs Charles Oliveira.
