Michael Chandler has revealed that he’s scared but excited ahead of his highly anticipated lightweight fight against Dustin Poirier at UFC 281 in November.
Chandler is coming off a highlight-reel knockout win over Tony Ferguson at UFC 272. He is 2-2 since signing with the UFC and will settle his differences with Poirier in a potential lightweight title eliminator. The pair have been taking shots at each other since the former Bellator champ signed with the promotion.
Michael Chandler On Dustin Poirier
They also had a run in cageside at UFC 276, and were dragged apart by security. Poirier appeared to be the more aggressive of the two. While Chandler has his issues with the former UFC interim lightweight champion, he said during a recent appearance on the DC & RC show on ESPN (as transcribed by BJPenn.com) that he respects his foe’s skillset and is looking forward to locking horns with him.
“I can tell you this, the dude’s got a chin on him, rangy southpaw, punches in bunches, great with his footwork and great with his defense,” Chandler said. “I’ve fought people in his camp before so I’m sure they are talking about that. With Dustin as he said, 28 fights in the UFC, I have a lot of Dustin Poirier fans/hey I have watched this guy forever. We are two guys who have been in this game for a very long time, last fight was last fight and this fight is going to be something brand new.
“I think Dustin can stand with me, I do think he has a granite chin, I do think he throws punches in bunches, I do think you get caught with Dustin Poirier’s four-ounce glove, you’re probably going out. So, I’m going to be on my P’s and Q’s, you know I like to mix it up, have a good game plan we already formulated it. May the best man win. This is a fight, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t scare me, but that’s what excites me. Every time we step into the Octagon it’s a scary opportunity, and that’s what wakes me up early in the morning.”
Who do you think will win the highly-anticipated lightweight matchup between Michael Chandler and Dustin Poirier at UFC 281?
