He may have called out Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor, but UFC lightweight Michael Chandler has been reminded of Dustin Poirier’s presence.
At UFC 274 this past weekend, Chandler shot back into contention with a brutal front-kick knockout of fellow veteran Tony Ferguson. Despite “El Cucuy” sitting a few places outside the top five at 155 pounds, “Iron” believes he’s staked his claim for a second shot at gold.
With the title vacant owing to a surprise weight miss, Chandler has set his sights on the second spot in the vacant title fight, which already has former champion Oliveria cemented on one side.
The #5-ranked contender also once again called out McGregor, representing an alternate option should top-three lightweight Islam Makhachev pip Chandler to the championship post.
But out of the dust has risen a slightly forgotten name in the 155-pound ranks, a “Diamond” ready to regain his shine.
Taking to Twitter, Poirier, who hasn’t competed since a second failed attempt at securing undisputed champion status in the UFC, questioned his absence in Chandler’s post-fight callouts.
While he acknowledged that “Iron Michelangelo” is painting a packed callout canvas post-fight, Poirier clearly believes it’s lacking a certain splash of Louisianan flare…
“A lot of names being said by Iron Michelangelo but I’m not hearing mine. Respectfully,” wrote Poirier.
Given that Poirier still sits at #2 in the division and only challenged for gold five months ago, it would certainly appear to make sense for Chandler to go through the former interim champion before challenging for the title again.
Immediately after his loss to Oliveira at UFC 269, Poirier seemed to shut the door on another push to the top at lightweight, instead targeting a welterweight scrap with fan favourite Nate Diaz.
Having made some teases about a potential re-commitment to lightweight on social media, Poirier’s reminder to Chandler serves as further evidence that his 155-pound chapter hasn’t been concluded quite yet.
And what better way to move beyond a fan-favorite fight against Nate Diaz than to target the man who’s perhaps delivered more entertainment in four Octagon outings than most do in a dozen?
Is Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler the next fight to make?
Continue Reading Poirier Questions His Absence From Chandler’s Post-UFC 274 Callouts at MMA News.