UFC lightweight contender Michael Chandler was not impressed by the performance from Dustin Poirier in the UFC 269 pay-per-view (PPV) main event last Sat. night (Dec. 11, 2021) inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“The Diamond” was submitted by Charles Oliveira after three rounds of championship action.
“I would never ever quit. I went out on my shield after being separated from consciousness, congrats to Oliveira,” Chandler wrote on Twitter. “The way I see it, the whole world wants to see me rematch two out of the three fights I’ve had in UFC. That’s how you come in and make a statement. I’d never QUIT. Congrats to Oliveira, punch your ticket with Gaethje this summer and I’ll see you at the end of 2022.”
Chandler also had a chance to defeat Oliveira for the lightweight title; however, “Do Bronx” stopped the Bellator import by way of technical knockout at UFC 262 last May. “Iron” followed up that loss with a “Fight of the Year” candidate against Justin Gaethje but in the process, fell to 1-2 inside the Octagon.
“I make ill-advised decisions at times. But I’m there to put y’all on the edge of your seat so you miss me when I’m gone,” Chandler continued. “I promise you will. Most of these guys are here to ‘play MMA.’ Yeah, I lost, I get it, but tell me you can’t see a difference between the so-called ‘elite’ and the ones who are built different. I’ve been there there to inflict immense bodily harm on somebody since the jump. Others are there to ‘play MMA.’”
Poirier has won eight of his last 10 and defeated the likes of Justin Gaethje and Conor McGregor along the way. In addition, “The Diamond” has only been submitted twice over the last decade and that came against two of the best grapplers in the history of the division, so I’m not sure either loss qualifies as “quitting.”
That’s probably why Chandler got shut down by former Bellator MMA rival Patricio Freire, who stopped “Iron” in their championship main event back in May 2019. “Pitbull” had some choice words for the UFC’s No. 5-ranked lightweight in the aftermath of UFC 269.
“You turned your back to Charles and ran away after being clipped,” Freire wrote back. “You quit against Gaethje. Also let’s not forget you asked Will Brooks for a time out. Shut your damn mouth, you’ve been pathetic.”
Expect UFC to attempt a Chandler vs. Poirier booking at some point in early 2022.