NEW YORK – Dustin Poirier is back on an upward trajectory in the lightweight division after his submission win over Michael Chandler at UFC 281.
Poirier (29-7 MMA, 21-6 UFC) added to his decorated UFC resume Saturday when he tapped out three-time Bellator champ Chandler (23-8 MMA, 2-3 UFC) in the third round of their lightweight bout at Madison Square Garden, which got him back in the win column after his title-fight loss to then-champ Charles Oliveira in December 2021.
After falling short of an undisputed UFC title for a second time, Poirier had a career-long 11-month layoff. He admitted it was tricky waters to navigate, but he came through it and delivered with a Fight of the Night win when he finally stepped back in the octagon.
“I had 11 months to sit back and sit on a loss,” Poirier told MMA Junkie and other reporters at the UFC 281 post-fight news conference. “I was trying to get fights that whole time, but nothing came through. Nothing materialized. I’m not sure whose fault it was. But I was training back home just sitting on that championship loss. It hurts. It drove me to get better and come in here and get the ‘W.’”
The matchup between Poirier and Chandler was expected to be fireworks before the event, and the pair delivered on the expectations and then some. There was a bit of tension between them prior to the fight, and it continued in the cage at UFC 281 when Poirier claimed Chandler fish-hooked him and blew his bloody nose on him in the middle of the fight.
Although Poirier is aware those things are all part of the fight game, he didn’t take too kindly to it. And when the bout reached its conclusion, he made sure Chandler knew it, too.
“I told him, ‘This is my house,’” Poirier said. “That’s what I told him. I said, ‘This is my house.’ And I told him he’s a dirty motherf*cker, too, for putting his fingers in my mouth and blowing his nose. It’s over. It’s whatever.”
Now back on the winning track, Poirier’s next moves open up more. There’s a new champion at 155 pounds in Islam Makhachev, whom “The Diamond” has yet to fight. Makhachev is scheduled to face featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski in the main event of UFC 284 in Perth, Australia, on Feb. 11, but there’s no definitive contender after that.
Makhachev’s coach and mentor, Khabib Nurmagomedov, suggested Poirier fight Beneil Dariush on that same UFC 284 card, and while Poirier isn’t certain about the date being a perfect fit, he sees the matchup with Dariush (22-4-1 MMA, 16-4-1 UFC) as a logical one.
“That’s one that makes a lot of sense,” Poirier said. “Beneil’s earned his stripes and put away some tough guys and has been looking great doing it. We’ll see. I’m not against it. It’s ultimately up to the UFC and the timeframe of when I want to return. … I think it’s a great matchup. I think he deserves a tough matchup.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
