5 ways in which Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler might turn out

At UFC 281, more than one rivalry will be settled. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler will cross paths after months of animosity boiling over between the two men.

After 'Iron' made his promotional debut last year at UFC 257, 'The Diamond' was initially dismissive of the former Bellator lightweight champion. The Louisianan was fresh off a TKO win against Conor McGregor and didn't regard 'Iron' as a worthy foe, enough so that he'd rather have sold hot sauce instead of facing him.

Unfortunately, Dustin Poirier's plans for lightweight supremacy were eventually derailed by a submission loss to Charles Oliveira.

In the aftermath of the bout, a clash with Michael Chandler was considered, but the former Bellator champion turned 'The Diamond's' earlier snub against him, offending him to the point of a cageside confrontation at UFC 276. With a matchup finally booked for this weekend, this list looks at the five ways the bout might turn out.

#5. Dustin Poirier wins via TKO

One of the reasons Dustin Poirier emerged victorious against Conor McGregor in the last two installments of their trilogy was his evolution as a fighter. During his featherweight run, 'The Diamond' was a combination puncher with limited defensive striking.

He'd shell up behind a high guard and wait for his foes to end their combinations before returning fire. As a lightweight, the former interim champion has become a dangerous counterpuncher whose use of the Philly Shell has made him far more difficult to outstrike than previously.

#OnThisDay in 2018: @DustinPoirier was on the road to the lightweight title with this TKO!

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Not only does Dustin Poirier move his head off the center-line to evade punches, but he also uses his shoulders, elbows and the top of his head to deflect blows while countering his opponents during their offensive flurries. This could prove especially effective against Michael Chandler.

'Iron' is arguably the most powerful puncher at 155 lbs. But part of his knockout power stems from how far-forward he steps after every significant strike. The former Bellator champion steps in deep to throw all of his bodyweight into every punch.

Unfortunately, this means he leads with his face and is moving forward with so much momentum that his foes don't need to counterpunch him with much power to hurt him. This is why Chandler is rocked so frequently. He overextends and inevitably finds himself in a poor position to absorb blows.

Against a powerful counterpuncher like Poirier, this could prove to be a fatal mistake for the Bellator champion, who might repeatedly run himself into powerful blows en route to a TKO loss.

#4. Michael Chandler wins via KO

The UFC lightweight division is home to a plethora of powerful strikers. However, its hardest hitter is arguably a wrestler who has fallen in love with the sheer breadth of knockout power at his disposal. Not only is Michael Chandler incredibly powerful, he is also extremely fast with an explosive athleticism.

While Dustin Poirier is a far more competent counterpuncher and defensive striker than he once was, he does have certain defensive concerns that might expose his chin to an 'Iron' bomb. 'The Diamond' has a habit of extending his combinations, which comes with serious risks.

Michael Chandler with possibly the most vicious KO in UFC History

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The longer a fighter extends their boxing combinations, the more time they spend inside the pocket. Furthermore, 'The Diamond' often punctuates his combinations with hooks. To land a hook, a fighter must also be in position for their foe to land their own hook.

Thus, by extending his hook-based boxing combinations, the former interim champion puts himself at risk of being caught by a hook from 'Iron' the longer he sits in the pocket. With the knockout power that Michael Chandler possesses, Dustin Poirier may very well suffer a KO in such a scenario.

#3. A split-decision win

This bout might have a different complexion were it contested for five rounds. However, Saturday's clash between 'Iron' and 'The Diamond' is a three-round affair. Due to this, Dustin Poirier won't be able to wage a war of attrition against his foe.

Even still, Michael Chandler expends a tremendous amount of energy in every bout. The drawback of doing so is that halfway through the second round, he starts gasping for air and slows down significantly. Regardless of his output decreasing, 'Iron' does not concede.

𝘽𝙀𝘼𝙐𝙏𝙄𝙁𝙐𝙇 𝙑𝙄𝙊𝙇𝙀𝙉𝘾𝙀 🤩

Dustin Poirier 🆚 Michael Chandler is guaranteed chaos...AND WE LOVE IT 🔥

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Since Dustin Poirier is a counterpuncher, he must spend a few minutes making reads and analyzing his foe's strikes to inform his own counters. So their bout might take on a more balanced flavor, with the former Bellator champion winning the first round and a half before the Louisianan takes over.

In this scenario, neither man will finish his foe, and the fight will instead end with a split-decision win for one of them.

#2. Michael Chandler outwrestles his foe

Many fans often forget that Michael Chandler is a former NCAA Division I All-American. The former Bellator champion is a formidable wrestler whose set of extraordinary physical attributes render him difficult to fend off and hold down. However, his athleticism comes at a cost.

Michael Chandler and Usman wrestling #ufc281 https://t.co/vjhLTF96TZ

'Iron' does not have the best cardio among his lightweight colleagues. Many of the times he tires in the cage, he resorts to his wrestling to ground his foes so that he can lay on top of them and catch a breather. Similarly, when he's badly hurt, 'Iron' resorts to takedowns like he did against Tony Ferguson.

It's possible that he'll do the same against 'The Diamond' as getting tired or hurt are both high possibilities in their upcoming bout. Thus, Michael Chandler might resort to his historical approach of simply wrestling his foes into a low volume fight.

#1. Dustin Poirier wins via guillotine choke

Michael Chandler has never been submitted in his professional career as a mixed martial artist. The former Bellator lightweight kingpin is notoriously difficult to secure submissions against even when he compromises himself by getting into poor positions.

Charles Oliveira, the greatest submission specialist in UFC history, was unable to submit 'Iron' even after securing his back. While Dustin Poirier is far from as skilled a grappler as 'do Bronx', the Louisianan is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt. Furthermore, unlike Oliveira, Poirier's abilities as a grappler are never considered.

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All his foes always expect a kickboxing affair with him, rendering them underprepared for his skills as a grappler. In particular, Dustin Poirier possesses an excellent guillotine-choke. Due to Michael Chandler's penchant for shooting for sloppy takedowns when he's tired, he opens himself up to chokes.

'Iron' often does so by shooting in with his head positioned on the outside of his foe's hip, exposing his neck to guillotine-chokes. Against the Louisianan, the former Bellator champion won't be expecting grappling. Even great grapplers can fall to submissions against strikers when they're tired and don't expect it.

After all, Jiří Procházka—a kickboxer with no ranked credentials as a BJJ practitioner—submitted Glover Teixeira, a second-degree BJJ black belt to capture UFC gold. It's possible that once he's tired enough, 'Iron' will shoot for a risky takedown that will end with his exposed neck trapped in a guillotine-choke.