A lightweight fight that fans have been waiting to be finalized has finally been finalized. The UFC has officially signed the lightweight bout between former interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier (28-7) and former title challenger Michael Chandler (23-7).
ESPN’s Brett Okamoto broke the story today that the fight was officially signed. It will go down at UFC 281 on November 12th and it will be a three-round fight. For Poirier, it will be his first fight of 2022 and it will bring an end to a long and frustrating time for the former champion.
Poirier last fought in December when he fought Charles Oliveira for the lightweight title. Despite starting the fight really strong, Poirier was ultimately submitted in the third round by Oliveira. Immediately after the fight, Poirier started angling for a fight with Nate Diaz.
It was a fight that Diaz wanted as well. However, contract issues between the UFC and Diaz prevented the fight from happening. As a result, Poirier had remained on the sidelines waiting for an opportunity. A fight had been brewing with Michael Chandler that also had some bad blood involved.
However, things didn’t come together until now. Now, we are going to see this fight that fans have wanted to see for a long time.
Chandler gets new UFC Deal
Michael Chandler originally signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC back in 2020. Through four fights, he’s gone 2-2 with two knockouts and two losses that were insanely competitive and fun fights. The promotion decided to reward Chandler with a new multi-fight deal ahead of this Poirier fight.
The last time we saw Chandler was back at UFC 274 when he fought Tony Ferguson. Chandler was dropped in the first round of that fight but stormed back using his wrestling in the first round. Then in the second round, he delivered a perfect front kick to knock Ferguson out.
That win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Chandler. Now, “Iron” Mike is getting a fight that he’s wanted since he joined the promotion. There’s some heat on this one and it should be a fun one for fans.