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The easiest game to make after UFC 257 appears to be Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, after the two came out of Saturday’s pay-per-view event with impressive knockout wins.
But Poirier doesn’t believe they’re in the same category, and he doesn’t like fighting the former Bellator champion after stopping Conor McGregor in the pay-per-view headliner.
“I can guarantee you I won’t fight Michael Chandler,” Poirier told reporters, including MMA Fighting, at the UFC 257 post-fight press conference. “They can do what they do. want with the division. I really don’t care. If something makes sense, we will.
UFC 257 was originally touted by UFC President Dana White as an audition for the top lightweight, with Poirier v McGregor and Chandler v Dan Hooker competing to impress the current lightweight champion of the l ‘UFC, Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chandler certainly did his part, stopping Hooker in the first round with a fierce display of hitting. But with Nurmagomedov looking less and less likely to overturn a decision to retire from the sport, Poirier believes he should be seen as the champion.
Of course, Poirier doesn’t really hold the belt. But he should be fighting for it very soon, and if the UFC does things the way they think they should be done, he said, then the person in front of him will be the one who deserves it. the opportunity.
“I just worked,” he says. “That’s why I’m sitting here feeling like I can talk about it, because I’ve been in the division and in the UFC for a long time, fighting the best of the best of the best.
“No disrespect for [Chandler], he seems to be a good husband, a good father, he speaks well, has a lot of respect, is doing very well. It is not a blow against him. It’s just my feelings about the division and the sport. I lost to Khabib, got out and put on a ‘fight of the year’ for you guys, put my hand up against one of the top five opponents after that. Then I come over there and Khabib doesn’t want to come back and then I knock out one of the biggest fights you can have. I knock this guy out too.
“Khabib keeps saying he doesn’t want to fight anymore – man, I’m the champion. I’m not going to fight, some – and like I said, respect for Chandler – a new guy in the UFC who just beat a guy who just suffered a loss that I just beat for the belt. It’s not exciting for me.
Back in June, Poirier defeated Hooker by decision to rebound from a loss to Nurmagomedov in a title unifier. A more attractive candidate for him was Charles Oliveira, who has won his last eight fights and recently outclassed former interim champion Tony Ferguson in an impressive performance.
“I think he has more [of a case for the title shot]Poirier said. “I’ve been watching this guy for 10 years in the UFC, two different weight classes. He fought the best of the best over and over again. And, he got knocked down and got back up, and he proved what MMA and persistence is. I respect that. Not that I don’t respect Michael Chandler. I just think there’s more work for him than beating a guy I just beat.
Oliveira was one of two names approached for the title shot, the other being Justin Gaethje, who, like Poirier, lost an attempt to unify the belts. Before that, however, Gaethje was stopped by “The Diamond” in a brutal fight.
Asked if Oliveira or Gaethje had a better shot at the title shot, Poirier chose the Brazilian.
“Simply because he never had the chance,” said Poirier. “Gaethje just came here and got beaten up, like me. Not a hit on Gaethje, but he lost. I think Oliviera, probably, or let them fight to see who gets it.
Poirier will finally see what the UFC has in store for him after resting and relaxing. He put a huge feather in his cap as he beat McGregor, the UFC’s biggest box office star and a former two-division champion. The next fight he takes on has to be one he can justify as a veteran who has earned his sustenance.
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