UFC lightweight warriors ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier delivered fans a high-octane slugfest at UFC 281 last Saturday night.
Emanating from the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York City, fans in the arena and those watching around the world were treated to a lightweight war between Chandler and Poirier as part of the evening’s absolutely stacked night of fights. Needless to say, the 155-pound showdown did not disappoint. Delivering what many called the Round of the Year, Chandler and Poirier delivered an insane back-and-forth battle in the opening five minutes that nearly saw both men fall at one point.
In the end, Chandler would fall to ‘The Diamond’ via a third-round rear-naked choke. Taking to his YouTube channel, Chandler opened up about the loss to Poirier and his mindset after falling short once again inside the Octagon.
Fighting Makes Michael Chandler ‘Feel Alive’
“The greatest fighter of all time [Muhammad Ali] said that it was a good thing to lose. No matter what in life, when we are trying to accomplish something great. When you are stepping outside your comfort zone. When you are throwing yourself fully into something. Fully down a path. 100 percent invested in any endeavor. Any high-level endeavor. Any meaningful endeavor in life, you are going to encounter setbacks and you will most assuredly lose at some point.
“I sit here as a man today who just failed. A man who threw himself into the fire. A man who had a great opportunity. A great platform. A great crowd of witnesses and I fell short, but in my line of work and what I have chosen to do, what God has called on me to do, the path that I am walking down, stakes are high. The pain is aplenty. The danger is ever-present, but it makes me feel alive.”
With the defeat at UFC 281, Michael Chandler has lost three of his last four fights dropping his UFC record to 2-3 overall. It’s safe to say that Chandler will always have a home inside the Octagon thanks to his balls-to-the-wall style of fighting, but the losses are certainly not helping the former Bellator champion achieve his dream of capturing gold in the UFC.
With losses to Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, and Dustin Poirier, what’s next for ‘Iron’ Michael Chandler?