Dustin Poirier doesn’t get what Michael Chandler is still chasing.
Chandler has always been box-office, but the results have dried up. He’s lost four straight and gone 1-6 in his last seven, stopped four times in that stretch. His latest outing ended with Mauricio Ruffy finishing him in the first round on the UFC Freedom 250 card. He hasn’t won since knocking out Tony Ferguson with a front kick in May 2022.
So when Chandler posted that he was done “starving” himself and had started bulking up, hinting at a move to welterweight, Poirier didn’t hide his confusion on the “Deep Waters” podcast.
With all due respect, we buried the hatchet and shook hands. But Michael Chandler, what are we doing?
To Poirier, going up in weight only makes the problem worse.
I saw a thing, I don’t know if this is official news, but he said he might move up to welterweight. If 155ers are stopping you and you’re taking all this damage, what are 170ers going to do? He’s too short. He’s not long enough. I want to know what he’s fighting for.
Poirier knows the man as well as anyone. He actually started Chandler’s slide, submitting him with a third-round rear-naked choke in their Fight of the Night war at UFC 281 in November 2022 at Madison Square Garden. His concern reads less like a shot and more like a peer who’d rather see Chandler walk away with his health intact.
