Dustin Poirier, Daniel Cormier and Michael Chandler (Credits: ESPN MMA - YouTube)
Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler clear the air on their beef and discuss their scheduled bout at UFC 281
Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler are all set to face each other and settle their dispute at UFC 281. The unusual beef peaked when the pair engaged in a heated back-and-forth at UFC 276. They get to settle the dispute when they stand across each other in their scheduled bout at Madison Square Garden.
Poirier and Chandler joined Daniel Cormier on DC&RC show to discuss their upcoming clash. Poirier claims that he essentially felt left-out when Chandler called out everyone in the division but him. In Chandler’s defense, Poirier was hinting at a potential move to welterweight and targeting a fight against now out-of-contract Nate Diaz.
Poirier cleared the air on the issue:
“No Mike was very professional there. He kept it moving. That was the first time I saw him in person since Abu Dhabi and since he went on record saying all that stuff. So I wanted to tell him what I thought about him.”
Poirier addressed why he shrugged off Chandler’s callouts initially when he moved to the UFC from Bellator:
“It was his first fight in the organization [against Dan Hooker], and I’ve fought 28 times. It was his first fight in the company. “
Chandler retaliated by saying:
“I think in order for us to put on our best show, doesn’t need to be made personal for us to go out there and put on a show. Have we had our misunderstandings, have we exchanged words? Absolutely. The truth remains the same. We gotta go out there and fight. It’s gonna be fun.”
Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler will throw down at UFC 281. The pair sat down with former UFC double champion Daniel Cormier to preview their upcoming bout.
“I can tell you this, the dude’s got a chin on him, rangy southpaw, punches in bunches, great with his footwork and great with his defense. I’ve fought people in his camp before so I’m sure they are talking about that. With Dustin as he said, 28 fights in the UFC, I have a lot of Dustin Poirier fans/hey I have watched this guy forever. We are two guys who have been in this game for a very long time, last fight was the last fight and this fight is going to be something brand new.”
Poirier added that he wanted the fight to be five rounds:
“I really wanted to do a five-round fight. Especially for me, I like to get a rhythm going and the timing. I feel like the better fighter unless something happens early in one of the first rounds, the better fighter usually wins in the distance. You can make this thing 10 rounds it’s going to be the same energy going into those first few rounds.”
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