For the sake of this fight, it is worth turning on UFC 281 earlier
On the night of November 12-13, UFC 281 will take place in New York, USA. A top night with a bunch of powerful fights and the main fight of the tournament, in which Israel Adesanya will hold the third meeting in his career against Alex Pereira.
There are plenty of cool names on the undercard, but no less powerful confrontation compared to the main event of the tournament is Dustin Poirier (28-7) vs. Michael Chandler (23-7). There are chances that in terms of dynamism and fascination, this fight can surpass the meeting between Adesanya and Pereira.
Poirier vs. Chandler is a meeting of people affected by Oliveira’s resurgence. The winner can go to the champion
Charles Oliveira directly influenced the careers of both future rivals. The Brazilian was a strong middle peasant for a long time, but over time he became stronger, stronger and got to the championship. The confrontations against both Poirier and Chandler turned out to be similar. At first, the Brazilian flew in, but later he was going to, and, as in the best American films, he defeated rivals ahead of schedule with a broken face.
Chandler broke into the UFC at full speed. Moving from Bellator, Michael immediately went against the strong Dan Hooker and did not bother with him for a long time – he knocked out in the first round. This was followed by a confrontation against Oliveira. An action-packed battle in which the American looked great, but still got hit by a dangerous Brazilian.
This was followed by a confrontation against Justin Gaethje. A great fight – without a doubt, one of the best last year in the UFC, but Chandler did not have enough there either. Michael’s defeat was the second in a row. Such a result certainly did not satisfy the former Bellator champion, so the return in 2022 should have been powerful. And so it happened.
The fight against Tony Ferguson was held as a meeting of an athlete who was able to maintain health compared to the opposite of his counterpart. Michael calmly led the fight and did not fall for the opponent’s psychological chips, and then he hit Ferguson in the jaw with his foot so that it literally became scary for the veteran.
At the same time, Dustin Poirier was not hyperactive. 2021 turned out to be productive for the American. First, he met with Conor McGregor – knocked out an opponent. Then he met with the Irishman again – he won due to a terrible injury, when Conor’s leg literally went the other way. And he ended the year with an early defeat from Charles Oliveira. The master of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu dealt with the all-rounder in his field.
After that, Dustin did not appear in the cage. During this time, Chandler managed to return, first disappeared in the lightweight UFC, and then a new champion appeared, and now, most likely, future rivals will fight for a chance to fight against him.
Who is the favorite and why?
The bookmakers have everything unambiguous and close. You can bet on the victory of Dustin Poirier for 1.62. For Michael Chandler’s victory – for 2.30. Also, bookmakers are somewhat less confident that the fight will go on for more than two rounds – this is a factor of 1.90 against 1.80 for the opposite result.
In fact, the duel is extremely equal in all components. Very balanced opponents, very interesting confrontation. Both know how to fight. No crazy skills, but looks good. At the same time, both feel better in the rack.
Porrier is more collected and calm. Confidently acts under pressure, does not start to break the plan when something goes wrong. The same Conor McGregor could not oppose his skills to him. The Irishman is a more versatile and interesting drummer, but order has quietly beaten class twice.
Chandler is strong. His physics are regularly at the highest level. Michael can press opponents endlessly from round to round, work with power, attack from different angles. Despite the fact that the opponent is taller and has longer limbs, the American is able to overcome such troubles, reaching a comfortable distance due to strength and timing.
Two more important points. The first is age. Poirier is 33 years old, Chandler is 36. Yes, three years difference, but 36 is quite a respectable age for a fighter, so it is not clear when Michael will retire. On the other hand, he has not yet shown signs of aging. The second is constant practice. To stay in shape, at 36, you need to constantly train. Chandler does it and boxing all the time. You can’t say the same about Poirier, and this is important before meeting with an opponent who can simply hit the whole fight from all sides.
It turns out, absolutely equal chances. The result will be affected by moments that cannot be predicted. Better plan, wins in specific episodes, better accuracy. Opponents are different, but equally powerful and can equally come up with a lot of problems for each other.
And that’s great. If Adesanya and Pereira can put together a tactical shootout, these guys are guaranteed to keep fans entertained.
Why will the winner go to the champion? Because the first number in lightweight was Charles Oliveira, who lost to Islam Makhachev. And the second is just Dustin Poirier. Even though Chandler is fifth, the winner is guaranteed to be number one and a prime candidate for a championship showdown.
Which of them will cope better with Makhachev? It should be noted that it is not a fact that the fight will take place against Islam, because he will most likely have a meeting against Volkanovski, who is going to rise for the championship fight.
At the same time, Poirier will probably be more difficult against Makhachev – as it was against Khabib Nurmagomedov. But Chandler can potentially take his due due to physical strength and the ability to push his interests where it’s really hard.
But first it needs to be done in a duel against Dustin Poirier.
Dustin Poirier vs Michael Chandler will take place in New York on the night of November 13-14. The fight will tentatively start at 06:00 Kyiv time. The fight will be broadcast live on Setanta Sports.
