"I'm not implying that they turned down the fight because they were scared of me" - Michael Chandler names two top lightweights who refused to fight him on UFC debut
Michael Chandler revealed that he had two names in mind as potential opponents for his UFC debut back in January 2021 but both of those fighters apparently refused to fight him.
During a recent interaction with MMA Fighting's Damon Martin, Chandler claimed that former interim lightweight champions Tony Ferguson and Dustin Poirier refused to welcome him to the octagon. Chandler went on to fight Dan Hooker on his debut instead and picked up a spectacular first-round knockout win.
MICHAEL CHANDLER KNOCKS OUT DAN HOOKER IN THE FIRST! WOW! WELCOME TO THE UFC! #UFC257 https://t.co/36jUSs3lOv
Ferguson and Chandler later fought each other at UFC 274 when 'Iron' put the 38-year-old to sleep with a vicious front kick. Chandler is also expected to face Dustin Poirier next at UFC 281 in November.
Speaking about the time he wanted to face either Ferguson or Poirier on his UFC debut, Chandler claimed they probably refused to fight him because they wanted to take a "less risky" fight instead:
"When I first came into the UFC, we asked two guys to fight, both turned down the fight. Number one was Tony Ferguson. I have now fought him and the other one was Dustin Poirier. Now I'm not implying that they turned down the fight because they were scared of me. I was a brand new guy coming in from outside the UFC so it made a lot of sense for them to fight someone else inside the top five, a little bit of a less risky fight."
Watch the interview below:
Michael Chandler promises "fireworks" in potential clash against Dustin Poirier
Michael Chandler expects a potential clash with Dustin Poirier to be full of fireworks. Chandler pointed out that both Poirier and himself have always been part of entertaining fights and believes that they'll entertain the fans aplenty if they share the octagon down the line.
Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler is "close to being finalized" for UFC 281 on Nov. 12 at MSG, per @arielhelwani 🍿 https://t.co/zI4kFpQVWv
He said:
"If this fight gets booked and if it does, it's gonna be fireworks because one thing you can't say is that Dustin's ever been in a boring fight or that I've ever been in a boring fight so there's gonna be fireworks."
Chandler is currently 2-2 in the UFC with losses against Charles Oliveira and Justin Gaethje, and wins against Dan Hooker and Tony Ferguson. Poirier, on the other hand, has won two of his last three fights inside the octagon.
In 2021, he picked up two stoppage wins over Conor McGregor and succumbed to a submission loss against Charles Oliveira.