Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a violent sport unlike any other and for the American powerhouse Michael Chandler, Dustin Poirier is more violent than the former ‘BMF’ title holder, Justin Gaethje! Speaking on The Pivotal podcast, the former Bellator revealed what makes ‘The Diamond’ more vicious and terrifying than Gaethje.
“I think, they’re just that, they’re violent and I think they even get better as the violence starts to increase you know. I will say this, I’d say from a tactical standpoint, Dustin Poirier is a more polished, more veteran-thinking fighter than Gaethje whether it be his processing inside there and he’s able to get navigate and negotiate distances.”
Said the NCAA division-1 wrestler divulging his thoughts after the host asked him about Poirier and Gaethje. While both fighters are pretty violent and get more dangerous as the war wages on, Chandler lauds Poirier for being more calculated and an old-school fighter compared to Gaethje who has more of a stand-and-bang style. Having fought both Poirier and Gaethje, Chandler credits Poirier saying that he manages distance exceptionally well.
Citing how his fight with Poirier panned out, Chandler mentioned how ‘The Diamond‘ used the textbook rope-a-dope tactic once he got the Louisiana native against the cage. Rolling with the punches, Poirier effectively evaded more than a dozen fight-ending punches from Chandler and fired away calculated shots of his own to trounce the former Bellator lightweight champion.
Though Poirier was successful in defeating Chandler choking him from the rear two minutes into the third round, he couldn’t emulate the same against the current lightweight champ, Islam Makhachev at UFC 302. In the end, the veteran succumbed to the Russian’s submission, failing to capture the belt in his third attempt. That brings us to the million-dollar question if this was Poirier’s final UFC appearance.
Dustin Poirier provides updates, hints UFC return as he snubs retirement rumors
Dustin Poirier went out on his shield at UFC 302 in Newark, taking the fight to the champ and making him level up. While the American was able to stuff the Russian’s takedowns and get back to his feet, he failed to see the fight through, missing out on his third title shot.
With the anti-climactic ending, Poirier contemplated retirement and even hinted something along those lines in his post-fight speech. Fortunately for the fandom, the fighter has got more in the tank. Updating the community about his health, the former LW interim champ put out a Tweet in which an ardent fan noted down his wish to see the warrior back in the cage for one more fight.
While replying, Poirier confirmed that this was not his last rodeo and he would be back for more.
