Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler didn’t appear to have the friendliest of interactions at UFC 276 two weekends ago (July 2, 2022).
With former Lightweight title challengers seeking activity, a match-up between the two seems all too logical at the current stages in their respective careers. However, interest levels have fluctuated from each party’s end since Chandler arrived in the promotion at UFC 257 in Jan. 2021.
Having had plenty to say about each other in the months that followed Chandler’s epic knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274 in May 2022, tensions boiled over in the crowd at UFC 276 in Las Vegas as the two were caught on video being separated by security.
“I knew somewhere this was gonna come up,” Poirier said on DC & RC “The thing with me now, and my wife spoke about it, I’m not tweeting — look, nothing negative towards nobody in any interviews, online, nothing. If I have something to say, I’m gonna say it when the person’s present and that’s what you saw right there. I had something to say and I got it off my chest, told him what I felt about him and that’s it.
“If he ain’t here to defend himself or for me to speak in front of him, we don’t need to talk about it,” he concluded.
Among the names Chandler has been most interested in facing next, he’s highlighted that Poirier is not one of them. Meanwhile, “The Diamond” has been simply looking to get a fight against anyone and has even played with the idea of a Welterweight clash against former teammate, Colby Covington.
Instead, Poirier continues to remain sidelined since his last outing in Dec. 2021 but is staying busy in the gym.
“In a couple days, I’m leaving Thursday (July 14, 2022) to go back to south Florida to train at American Top Team and I think I’m just gonna pack my bags and stay there until I fight somebody, man,” Poirier said. “We got some things in the works and I’m ready to get back in there.”