Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler almost came to blows in Las Vegas last night as they were enjoying a UFC event cageside.
The two top lightweight contenders have had a long-standing rivalry, but as yet have been unable to settle their differences inside the octagon. Chandler and Poirier shared the card the night of the ex-Bellator champion's UFC debut in Abu Dhabi last year, both landing knockouts over Dan Hooker and Conor McGregor respectively.
But their chance to meet for the lightweight title was scuppered when Chandler lost his vacant title bout to Charles Oliveira last year. Poirier ended up beating McGregor again to earn a shot at the belt, but it was Oliveira who he ended up facing and ultimately losing to in December.
But the pair have remained heated rivals, and during last night's UFC 267 event welterweight contender Gilbert Burns caught a video of them going at it cageside. The pair were dragged apart by security while shouting expletives at one another, with Poirier seeming the more aggressive.
The footage is blurry due to being shot under one of the UFC's blue lights, and audio is not of a high quality. But it seems as if Poirier, who is standing closest to the camera says Chandler is "a fake motherf***er” as well as telling his rival “I’ll f*** you up.” Chandler's reply can't be heard.
Both men are respected lightweight contenders, and it had appeared that there was an element of respect to the pair's feud at one point. But it now seems that it is very real, with a fight between the pair seeming inevitable at some point down the road.
Chandler, who was stopped by Oliveira before Poirier lost to him, infamously claimed that the Louisiana native "quit" during the fight. "I would never ever quit," he tweeted after their fight back in December. "I went out on my shield after being separated from consciousness, congrats to Oliveira.
WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE
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"The way I see it, the whole world wants to see me rematch two out of the three fights I’ve had in the UFC, that’s how you come in and make a statement. I’d never QUIT. Congrats to Oliveira. Punch your ticket with Gaethje this summer and I’ll see you at the end of 2022."
Poirier hit back, insisting that he is a considerably bigger box office draw and that Chandler has fought a lower level of opposition. He appears to be correct about sales, and while level of competition can be subjective, he is correct that Chandler has yet to win a UFC fight against anybody coming off a victory.
"He’s never beaten anybody coming off of a win in the UFC!” Poirier told MMAFighting in May. “He’s been dropped in his last three fights, he’s never beat somebody coming off of a win.
"What are Dan Hooker’s last five fights and what are Tony Ferguson’s last five fights, the two guys he beat in the UFC? What are their records in their last fights? And I’m not talking trash, I’m stating facts. It’s whatever, I’ll fight him too. I don’t care anymore, just book me something.”
