What is next for Dustin Poirier after his UFC 281 victory?
Dustin Poirier earned the victory against Michael Chandler when he finished him off with a rear naked choke at UFC 281. The people began speculating that Dustin Poirier would be the next challenger for the lightweight titleholder Islam Makhachev.
UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev is all set for a fight against UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski. The contest is scheduled for UFC 284 in Perth Australia, which is expected to happen on February 11. Therefore, Poirier will have to wait for the results of this match and then have an opponent for his next fight.
Poirier admits that he was scared of Chandler going into the fight, but his fear became his strength. He talked to Michael Chandler after the fight and said,
“Hey, Mike! I was scared to fight you,” Poirier said. “It was coming from a healthy spot. Without fear, there is no bravery.”
Dustin Poirier was not happy with all the fouls that Michael Chandler did in the fight. Poirier revealed everything in a post-fight interview and stated,
“I told him this is my house,” Poirier said. “That’s what I told him. ‘This is my house.’ That’s it.
“And I told him he’s a dirty motherf*****, too, for putting his fingers in my mouth and blowing his nose. It’s all good.”
Michael Chandler won the 2nd round and dominated the fight. But, it was unfortunate for him that he got caught up in the choke and had to tap in the 3rd round. Chandler answered Poirier’s blame.
“Yes, I will admit his mouth was open, and my hand went inside and was on his mouthpiece,” Chandler said. “He bit down, I was trying to pull it out. It wasn’t as though I was trying to pull it out, and he was biting it and I couldn’t get it out. It was more just the angle. I mean you’re getting pushed up against the cage.
“Then when Dan Miragliotta was saying I was hitting him in the back of the head, I’ll have to go back and watch it to be honest with you but I know I was catching his ear, or at least in my mind I was catching his ear. So we had that kind of conversation. You all know I’m not a cheater. I love this game. I don’t cheat.”
Poirier disagreed with his opponent’s words and said everything was intentional in the fight. However, no matter what happened in the octagon, he won. So let’s see what UFC will decide for him. Either he has to wait for UFC 284, or give him another top contender opponent to fight before giving him another chance at the UFC lightweight title.
