Dustin Poirier still hasn’t squashed his beef with Michael Chandler.
In 2022, Poirier choked out Chandler in the featured fight of UFC 281. Following his win, Poirier ripped into Chandler for being “a dirty motherf*cker” who committed multiple fouls during the fight, including accusing him of fish-hooking. Nearly two years since, that animosity still lingers.
Last week, Poirier hopped on social media to tease one final fight, and fired tweets at possible opponents like Islam Makhachev and Conor McGregor. Chandler was quick to respond, telling Poirier to retire, which really bothered “The Diamond.”
“No thanks” - retire man…we good.
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) July 2, 2024
“Who the f*ck is ‘we?!’” Poirier said Wednesday on The MMA Hour. “You just go here, buddy. You’re not one of us. You’re not ‘we.’ I’ve been here. ‘We’re good.’ Who’s we? Welcome to the UFC, dude. You’ve got one win in the UFC.
“He’s not one of us. I’ve been cutting my teeth in the UFC since January of 2011, 2010. He just got here. Who is we? He’s speaking for the lightweight division? Muscle Milk Mike needs to chill.”
Chandler’s response to Poirier comes as the former Bellator lightweight champion is stuck in limbo. Theoretically, Chandler is supposed to fight McGregor after the two served as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter, but McGregor pulled out of their scheduled fight at UFC 303 with a toe injury, meaning Chandler has now been waiting for nearly two years for a fight that may never come. And while Poirier may have his issues with Chandler, he does at least understand the difficult position he’s in.
“He’s risking the chance of losing the fight if it ever materializes,” Poirier said. “But if he goes in there and loses to someone else, do they give him that Conor shot again? If he takes another fight does Conor move on and take a different fight as well?
“The payoff of beating Conor McGregor, financially and just for your career, is worth the wait. But if you never get it, you’re wasting a lot of years and you’re not a young man. These years are very important.
“I don’t know the way he is. I’m sure he’s got intelligent people around him helping him with his deals. I don’t know the way his contract is structured, but if it does happen and he did the right thing on the backend, he’s going to be paid and set his family up. But if it doesn’t, you’re wasting a lot of years and in this game we get old quick. You leave for two years — and I don’t know how old he is, 36? 37? You leave for two years and come back, you could look like a different person. But only he knows.”
Poirier, of course, had a memorable trilogy with McGregor, the final fight being the most recent time McGregor competed: when he shattered his leg at UFC 264. Those wins helped elevate “The Diamond” to one of the biggest stars in the UFC and set his family up for life financially. But looking back on things, Poirier says he wouldn’t have stuck around as long as Chandler has for this fight.
“I don’t think so. Not two years,” Poirier said. “I’d have to be in the position. It’s tough to say [how long I’d have waited]. After fighting him the second time in Abu Dhabi and then the way my contract was structured, I would have waited, probably — probably a year.”
Poirier most recently competed at UFC 302, losing his his lightweight title shot against Islam Makhachev. Following the bout, Poirier hinted at retirement, but appears to not be set on anything at the moment.
