"I'm tryna fight all these guys" - Dustin Poirier sets sights on UFC return, Nate Diaz and Michael Chandler among list of potential opponents
Dustin Poirier hasn't fought since a December 2021 loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269, and 'The Diamond' is starting to show his frustration as the weeks go by without a bout booked.
During a recent Q&A on Twitter, Poirier was as explicit as he could be regarding potential future opponents, saying he'd happily fight Justin Gaethje, Michael Chandler, or Nate Diaz. He wrote:
"Im tryna fight all these guys"
Im tryna fight all these guys twitter.com/Ethan62631425/…
It's unclear exactly why Dustin Poirier is having such a hard time getting another fight booked. He was one of the biggest stars of the promotion in 2021 after his two wins over Conor McGregor and a third round submission loss to Charles Oliveira.
Fans have been calling for a potential Poirier vs. Diaz fight for months, but nothing has materialized. Now Poirier is calling out Michael Chandler but not getting any response back.
twitter.com/blake_lasseter…
Pull up muscle boy!💪 twitter.com/blake_lasseter…
Michael Chandler turns down Dustin Poirier, saying "I don't really have any desire to fight him"
Everyone is interested in seeing Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler except for Chandler himself.
Hot off a knockout of the year candidate at UFC 274, 'Iron Mike' is currently hoping for a fight against Nate Diaz or Conor McGregor. When asked about Poirier on The MMA Hour, Chandler said:
"I have no interest in fighting Dustin, honestly. 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.”
Chandler finished things off by emphatically dismissing a Poirier fight. He said:
“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.”
Watch Michael Chandler discuss a fight with Dustin Poirier below: