The easiest fight to do after UFC 257 seemed to be Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler, after both left Saturday’s pay-per-view event with impressive knockout victories.
But Poirier does not believe they are in the same category, and he is not interested in fighting the former Bellator champion after stopping Conor McGregor at the headline of the pay-per-view.
“I can guarantee that I will not fight Michael Chandler,” Poirier told reporters, including MMA Fighting, at UFC 257 post-fight press conference. “They can do whatever they want with the division. I do not really care. If something makes sense, then we will. “
UFC 257 was initially framed by UFC President Dana White as a kind of test for the main lightweights, with Poirier x McGregor and Chandler x Dan Hooker competing to impress current UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov.
Chandler certainly did his part, stopping Hooker in the first round with a fierce striking display. But with Nurmagomedov looking less and less likely to reverse the decision to retire from the sport, Poirier thinks he should be considered the champion.
Of course, Poirier does not hold the belt. But he must be fighting for it very soon, and if the UFC is doing things the way it believes it should be done, he said, then the next person in front of him will be someone who has won the opportunity.
“I just started working,” he said. “That’s why I’m sitting here wanting to 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.
“Without disrespect to [Chandler], looks like a good husband, a good father, speaks well, has a lot of respect, behaves very well. It is not a blow to him. It’s just my feelings about the category and the sport. I lost to Khabib, went out and did a ‘Fight of the Year’ for you, raised my hand against one of the top five opponents after that. Then I get there and Khabib doesn’t want to go back, so I block one of the biggest fights you can. I knocked this guy out too.
“Khabib reiterates that he doesn’t want to fight anymore – man, I’m the champion. I’m not going to fight any – and as I said, I respect Chandler – a new guy in the UFC who just beat a guy who is coming out of a defeat I just won for the belt. This is not exciting for me. “
Last June, Poirier defeated Hooker on the decision to recover after a loss to Nurmagomedov in a title unifier. A more attractive candidate for him was Charles Oliveira, who won his last eight fights and most recently defeated former interim champion Tony Ferguson in an impressive performance.
“I think he has more [of a case for the title shot]”Said Poirier. “I’ve been following that guy for 10 years in the UFC, two different weight classes. He fought the best of the best, over and over again. And he has already been knocked out and got up, and proved MMA and perseverance. I respect this. Not that I don’t respect Michael Chandler. I just think there is more work for him than beating a guy I just won. “
Oliveira was one of the two names nominated for the title dispute, the other being Justin Gaethje, who, like Poirier, lost the dispute for the unification of the belts. Before that, however, Gaethje was interrupted by “The Diamond” in a brutal fight.
Asked whether Oliveira or Gaethje would have a better chance of competing for the title, Poirier chose the Brazilian.
“Just because he never had the opportunity,” said Poirier. “Gaethje came here and was defeated, like me. Not a hit on Gaethje, but he lost. I think Oliveira, probably, or let them fight to see who gets this. “
Poirier will finally see what the UFC has in store for him after resting and relaxing. He put a big feather on his hat by defeating McGregor, the UFC’s biggest box-office star and former two-division champion. The next fight he faces has to be one that he can justify as a veteran who has earned his livelihood.