Dustin Poirier pulled no punches when addressing Michael Chandler.
Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) submitted Chandler in a barnburner in November 2022, which is the last time Chandler was seen in action. Poirier accused Chandler of trying to cheat during their fight, and it appears that they still have bad blood.
After losing to lightweight champion Islam Makhachev at UFC 302, Poirier pondered retirement. However, he walked that thought back, admitting that he still has the itch. Upon hearing Poirier’s change of mind, Chandler took a shot at him.
“‘No thanks’ – retire man…we good.”
“No thanks” – retire man…we good.
— Michael Chandler (@MikeChandlerMMA) July 2, 2024
Chandler’s (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) dig set off Poirier.
“Who the f*ck is ‘we?'” Poirier said on The MMA Hour. “You just got 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. He just got here. Who is we? He’s speaking for the lightweight division? Muscle Milk Mike needs to chill.”
Chandler was scheduled to welcome Conor McGregor back in the UFC 303 headliner in late June, but McGregor withdrew due to injury. Their bout has yet to be rescheduled, and many think Chandler is wasting his time by waiting.
Poirier understands the difficulty of Chandler’s situation.
“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 back end, he’s going to be paid and set him and his family up. But if it doesn’t, you’re wasting a lot of years, and in this game, we get old quick.”
