"In my mind, he had already left the lightweight division" - Michael Chandler explains why he left out Dustin Poirier from UFC 274 call-outs
Michael Chandler believes Dustin Poirier's animousity with him stems from comments made in previous interviews. According to 'Iron', Poirier bears a grudge as he left out ' The Diamond' while calling out other elite lightweight contenders after UFC 274.
While Chandler claims that he accidentally failed to mention Poirier, he also noted that 'The Diamond' had previously refused to fight him, stating that he would rather sell hot sauce. Additionally, Chandler then believed that the Louisiana native had left the lightweight division as he appeared to be serious about a welterweight move.
'Iron' recently told MMAFighting's Damon Martin:
"I do think it does stem back to him saying, 'Hey, instead of fighting Chandler, I'd rather go sell hot sauce'. You know, I took that as a slight obviously. And since then, accidentally really, in one interview I completely forgot to mention his name inside the title picture. But that was because at that time, he was talking about retirement, he was talking about never making 155 [lbs.] again, he was talking about going up to 170 [lbs.], he was campaigning hard for the Diaz fight, so in my mind he had already left the lightweight division."
Watch Chandler's interview with MMAFighting below:
Michael Chandler wonders if Dustin Poirier is past his prime
Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier recently had an altercation while in attendance at UFC 276, which ended in them being separated by officials. According to Ariel Helwani, a matchup between the two, scheduled for UFC 281 in November, is now close to being confirmed.
Dustin Poirier is coming off a failed title bid against Charles Oliveira and has long rallied for a fight against Nate Diaz. 'The Diamond' had also appeared uncertain about his fighting career in the immediate aftermath of his loss against Oliveira.
These "telltale" signs have led Michael Chandler to wonder if Poirier is past his prime. While he doesn't intend any disrespect, 'Iron' believes it is the wrong time for the Louisiana native to fight him. The 36-year-old further told Damon Martin:
“I think he’s one of the best in the world but he’s also had a couple Conor [McGregor] fights, he’s got a little bit of money in the bank, he’s getting older, it’s hard for him to make the weight, he’s talked about going up to 170. These are all telltale signs that I think this is the right time for me to fight him and the wrong time for him to fight me. That’s no disrespect against him. I want to compete against him. I compete against anybody in the top 5 that’s going to get me towards a title shot.”