The easiest match to make after UFC 257 appears to be Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, after both came out of Saturday’s pay-per-view event with impressive knockout victories.
But Poirier does not believe they are in the same category, and he does not want to fight the former Bellator champion, after putting Conor McGregor in the pay-per-view header.
“I can guarantee I will not fight Michael Chandler,” Poirier told reporters, including MMA Fighting, at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference. “They can do with the department what they want. I do not really care. If something makes sense, then we will do it. ‘
UFC 257 was initially drafted by UFC President Dana White as an audition for the best lightweights, with Poirier against McGregor and Chandler against Dan Hooker competing to impress current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chandler certainly did his part and stopped Hooker in the first round with a fierce display of strikes. But because Nurmagomedov is less and less likely to reverse a decision to retire from the sport, Poirier thinks he should be considered champion.
Poirier, of course, does not hold the belt. But he will have to fight for it very soon, and if the UFC does things the way he believes it should be done, he said, then the person standing next to him will be someone who deserved the opportunity.
“I just started working,” he said. ‘That’s why I’m sitting here and I feel I can talk about it, because I’ve been in the division and the UFC for a long time, fighting the best of the best of the best.
‘No disrespect towards [Chandler], he looks like a good man, a good father, he speaks well, has a lot of respect, carries a lot of good. This is not a beating against him. It’s just my feelings towards the division and the sport. I lost to Khabib, and I tackled a ‘Fight of the Year’ for you, raising my hand against a top-five opponent afterwards. Then I get in there and Khabib does not want to come back again, then I strike out one of the biggest fights you can get. I beat this guy out too.
‘Khabib repeats that he does not want to fight anymore – dude, I’m the champion. I’m not going to fight, some – and as I said, with respect to Chandler – a new guy for the UFC who just beat a guy who has a loss that I just beat for the belt. This is not exciting to me. ”
This past June, Poirier sang Hooker by deciding to bounce back after a loss to Nurmagomedov in a title unite. One candidate who appealed to him more was Charles Oliveira, who has won his past eight fights and recently singled out former interim champion Tony Ferguson in a striking performance.
‘I think he has more [of a case for the title shot], ”Poirier said. ‘I’m been watching that guy in the UFC for ten years, two different weight classes. He always fought the best of the best. And he was knocked down and got up, and he proved what MMA and perseverance are. I respect that. Not that I do not respect Michael Chandler. I just think there’s more work for him to do than beat a guy I just beat. ‘
Oliveira was one of the two names shot for the title, the other being Justin Gaethje, who, like Poirier, lost an attempt to unite the belts. Before that, however, Gaethje was stopped in a fierce battle by “The Diamond”.
Asked if Oliveira or Gaethje had a better claim to the title shot, Poirier chose the Brazilian.
“Just because he’s never had the opportunity,” Poirier said. ‘Gaethje just came out here and hit, like me. Not a knock on Gaethje, but he loses. I think Oliviera, probably, or let them fight to see who gets it. ‘
Poirier will finally see what the UFC has in store for him after getting some rest and relaxation. He put a big feather in his cap by beating McGregor, the UFC’s biggest box office star and a former two-division champion. The next fight he is fighting should be one he can justify as a veteran who has earned his money.