Michael Chandler has responded to Dustin Poirier’s recent tweet about him, and also explained why he didn’t call Poirier out following his UFC 274 win — it was solely a case of out of sight, out of mind.
After Chandler viciously knocked out Tony Ferguson in the featured bout this past Saturday in Phoenix, he cut a great promo calling out names such as Charles Oliveira and Conor McGregor, but didn’t mention Poirier — which is something the former interim champion noticed in the event’s aftermath.
With Nate Diaz also expressing interest in fighting the former Bellator champ, Chandler was asked if he had a choice between Diaz and Poirier to face next, it would be the former by a long shot.
“It would be Diaz. I have no interest in fighting Dustin, honestly,” Chandler said on The MMA Hour. “To be quite honest, I think he’s a great dude. I think I like him for the sport, but I also think I was completely disregarded and pushed aside whenever I came into the organization. He completely disregarded me, he acted as though I didn’t deserve to be where I was.
“Maybe it’s a bit more of a personal issue, but I also don’t think… is Dustin a draw? I guess he’s the No. 2 guy [in the UFC rankings] now, but he’s just kind of stayed at No. 2 and I don’t know how active he’s going to be. I did see him tweet that I was saying everyone else’s name but his as if I didn’t want to fight him because of technical reasons or what not, but it’s more like I forgot about him.”
The No. 6 ranked lightweight in MMA Fighting’s Global Rankings is now 2-2 in his four octagon appearances, with all four contests being incredibly entertaining bouts. Poirier has been known to find himself in a wild battle or two in his own right.
Although it would be an incredibly exciting 155-pound matchup on paper, Chandler is sticking with a “thanks, but no thanks” approach to the fantasy matchmaking.
“Hat’s off for what he’s done in his career and I respect the heck out of him, he makes some great hot sauce,” Chandler explained. “But as of right now, I don’t really have any desire to fight him.”
