Dustin Poirier has shown incredible consistency throughout his career, and he’s not about to let that change at UFC 281.
Poirier (28-7 MMA, 20-6 UFC) will look to rebound from his title fight loss to Charles Oliveira when he meets Michael Chandler (23-7 MMA, 2-2 UFC) on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden.
In 35 professional fights, Poirier never has lost two straight.
“The division is always changing,” Poirier told Yahoo Sports. “You know, lightweight has been top heavy for a while. We have a new champion now that opens things up, new matchups, new opportunities. But I’ve always put pressure on myself every fight, especially coming off of a loss. I’ve been fighting for 15 years, and I’ve never lost two fights in a row, and I don’t plan on starting now. I’ve always tried to put together my game and learn from losses, go back to the drawing board.
“And I’ve had plenty of time after this last fight in December to work on things to try to get better, to focus, and it’s more about proving it to myself. I want to go out there and show growth, show new wrinkles and tighten up things that I thought I was doing sloppy. So it’s always personal pressure. You know, it’s not about the division to me. It’s about me being able to look in the mirror after the fight.”
Poirier has fallen short twice in his pursuit of UFC gold. But with the division crowning a new champion in Islam Makhachev at UFC 280, he’s not ruling out the possibility of another title shot in the near future.
“I feel like my track record and my work speaks for itself,” Poirier said. “I don’t need to get on a platform and beg for a title shot. I’m gonna go out there and fight next weekend and let the cards fall where they may.”
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
