Dustin Poirier never hesitates at a chance to go off on Michael Chandler.
Poirier’s dislike for Chandler started years ago when the pair met during a Bellator event. Poirier recalled Chandler coming up to him to pay his respects, but things took a turn when Chandler made his way to the UFC in late 2020.
“The Diamond” recounted the story.
“Why do I dislike him so much? It comes back to this,” Poirier said on the “Outta Pocket with RGIII” podcast. “A long time ago, I was at a Bellator event. He comes in at the back, ‘I just wanted to come over and shake your hand. I respect you so much, man. Your career has been awesome. You’ve had so many great fights, you’ve come back from adversity, so nice to meet you and finally shake your hand.’
“Fast forward a year, two years: He makes it to the UFC. Now he’s talking trash on me. Then I saw him in Vegas. He was coming into an event at T-Mobile Arena, and that’s the first time I saw him since. I said, ‘You little b*tch.’ I said, ‘You’re a fake motherf*cker, I will beat your ass.’ And then they booked the fight.”
Poirier (30-8 MMA, 22-7 UFC) fought Chandler (23-9 MMA, 2-4 UFC) at UFC 281 in November 2022, submitting the former Bellator champion by Round 3 rear-naked choke in a Fight of the Night battle. Poirier was infuriated by Chandler’s in-fight tactics, accusing him of being a dirty fighter.
“With my personal experience, he’s fake, man,” Poirier said. “But we do this knuckle sh*t, so I was even more mad. I’m like, let’s fight then, and he’s a cheater! I could go on for days. I get so amped up about this. He does all kinds of stuff, man. Blows the blood in my eyes after I break his nose. That’s cool. I’ve done that before. I admitted it after.
“And then Chandler, I brought it up, and he said he didn’t do it. Like, just admit it, bro. You’re so fake. Then he stuck his fingers in my mouth to lift my neck up for a rear-naked choke, right? He’s on my back, I’m trying to get up off the fence. He sticks his fingers inside my mouth, grips my mouth guard, pulls my head up to try and get his hand under my chin – bro, I bite his fingers so hard.”
Poirier is currently gearing up for his retirement fight in summer, where he hopes to lay down his gloves in his home state of Louisiana. Meanwhile, Chandler takes on fan favorite Paddy Pimblett April 12 at UFC 314 in Miami.
