Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler are set to face off in a highly anticipated lightweight bout at UFC 281 on 12 November. No.1-ranked middleweight Robert Whittaker recently shared his prediction for the upcoming fight.
During a recent appearance on MMA Pros Pick, Whittaker claimed that the matchup is a hard one to predict. However, he wound up backing Poirier:
“I would have to say Poirier, but this is if I have to bet. Honestly, this is a hard fight to bet, but Poirier has such good diversity with his strikes. He doesn’t come in with one angle, he mixes it up quite well. Happy to wrestle if you want to, happy to grapple, throws effective kicks, great fight IQ, lasts – which is a big thing.”
Whittaker added:
“Chandler on the other hand [is] very explosive, obviously stopping shots. Very smart, very well put together, but he gets hit, and he gets dropped. He comes back all the time, but he does get hit, and with a guy like Poirier who will last and fight that sort of fight of exchanging shots one for one almost until one of you stops moving, I’d have to say Poirier.”
Poirier and Chandler will both have a big opportunity to pick up a statement win at UFC 281. A dominant performance could help propel either fighter back into lightweight title contention.
Watch Robert Whittaker share his thoughts on Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler below (starting at the 0:29 mark):
Michael Chandler reveals that he did not want to face Dan Hooker in his UFC debut
On his highly anticipated UFC debut, Michael Chandler entered as a former three-time Bellator lightweight champion. While he was able to pick up a first-round TKO victory over Dan Hooker, the No.5-ranked UFC lightweight recently revealed that Hooker wasn’t his ideal opponent.
Watch Chandler KO Hooker below:
Chandler recently sat down with MMA On Point to discuss his opponents’ trash-talk before and after fighting him. Chandler stated:
“I didn’t really wanna fight Dan Hooker. You’re coming in the UFC, Dan Hooker’s 6’7. He is a long, rangy guy… I didn’t wanna fight Dan Hooker. He had just gone 25 minutes with Dustin Poirier, heart of a champion, long, rangy striker. Even if you do get him, he wiggles and moves and wall-walks and gets up. He’s a scary one.”
The first-round TKO win allowed Michael Chandler to fight for the vacant lightweight title in his next fight at UFC 262 in May 2021. However, he was unable to become the lightweight champion against Charles ‘do Bronx’ Oliveira who knocked ‘Iron’ out in the second round.
Watch Michael Chandler discuss facing Dan Hooker below (starting at the 3:37 mark):
