Will the real lightweight title contender please stand up?
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is inching closer to the three-round slobberknocker between top 155-pound contenders Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, set for the upcoming UFC 281 pay-per-view (PPV) main card this Sat. night (Nov. 12, 2022) inside Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The winner could be in line for the next lightweight title shot.
“I feel like I’ve been living a dream ever since I came into UFC two years ago,” Chandler said on Episode 2 of UFC 281 “Embedded” (watch Ep. 1 here). “UFC 281 is a huge, huge opportunity. You beat Dustin Poirier, you knock off Dustin Poirier, the No. 2 guy in the world and your name’s gotta be thrown in the hate for a title shot so that’s what I’m looking forward to on Nov. 13, but on Nov. 12 I gotta get the job done and get my hand raised at Madison Square Garden.”
Poirier (28-7, 1 NC) is coming off a second-round submission loss to then-lightweight champion Charles Oliveira, snapping a three-fight winning streak that included back-to-back wins over Conor McGregor. “The Diamond” has captured 10 of his last 12 and is currently ranked No. 2 at 155 pounds.
That’s three spots above the No. 5-ranked Chandler, who managed to put together a 2-2 record since crossing over from Bellator MMA back in late 2020. “Iron” is coming off a “Knockout of the Year” contender opposite Tony Ferguson at UFC 274, which led to a “Notorious” callout that remains unanswered.
Expect lightweight champion Islam Makhachev to keep a close eye on this one.
MMAmania.com will deliver LIVE round-by-round, blow-by-blow coverage of the entire UFC 281 fight card RIGHT HERE, starting with the early ESPN+ “Prelims” matches at 6 p.m. ET, followed by the remaining undercard balance on ESPN+/ESPNews at 8 p.m. ET, before the PPV main card start time at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
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