Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler Official For UFC 281
Dustin Poirier will fight Michael Chandler at UFC 281 on November 12th at Madison Square Garden, New York according to Ariel Helwani.
The fight will take place at Lightweight (155 lbs) where Poirier is ranked #2 and Chandler is now #5.
This fight has been in the works for weeks and rumors have been circulating from both fighters. Though the two are not known for their trash talk and aggressive demeanors, this fight will be a grudge match.
Their history begins at UFC 257 where Chandler called Poirier out to fight after a successful UFC debut. Poirier would ignore him for the better part of 2 years before things began to heat up between them on social media. Their feud peaked at UFC 276 where Poirier initiated an altercation in the stands.
Dustin Poirier is coming off of a 3rd-round submission loss to Charles Oliveira at UFC 269 for the Lightweight title. Many believed he would win the fight and he even closed as a favorite over the champion.
Chandler's last fight was his most spectacular showing to date. He earned a KO of The Year contender finish over Tony Ferguson with a front kick knockout at UFC 274. He delivered one of the most memorable post-fight interviews inside the octagon that night.
Poirier has opened as a -170 favorite over Chandler. He is expected to win the fight by KO.
