Beneil Dariush thinks Michael Chandler has the tools to beat Dustin Poirier on Saturday night at UFC 281. However, he doesn’t think he’ll use them properly enough to get the job done.
Dariush would like to pick Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) to beat Dustin Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) in the lightweight showdown at UFC 281. Yet, he’s siding with the American Top Team product as he believes Chandler is too focused on being entertaining to the point of his own detriment.
“If Chandler fights smart, he should be able to win this fight,” Dariush recently told “Morning Kombat.” “But I think Chandler right now is so focused on being exciting, so focused on being entertaining for the fans, he puts himself in really bad situations.
“I think if he goes out there, plays a very conservative striking game, a lot of wrestling, he should be able to pull this off. But in reality, I think Dustin Poirier is going to end up winning this fight, because Chandler is going to try to be more than he needs to be. I think he’s going to end up losing the fight because of that.”
There’s no denying Chandler has been nothing but entertaining since his arrival to the UFC. In his four-fight run in the promotion, Chandler has picked up two Performance of the Night bonuses and one Fight of the Night bonus. The Fight of the Night bonus, which was earned with Justin Gaethje at UFC 268, transcended beyond the card and ended up being MMA Junkie’s Fight of the Year for 2021.
Poirier is also famous for putting on a show. The former UFC interim lightweight champion has racked up seven Fight of the Night and five Performance of the Night bonuses in his 11-year career with the promotion.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
