A
previously rumored lightweight clash between Dustin
Poirier and Michael
Chandler now has a date and venue.
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UFC chief business officer Hunter
Campbell informed promotion broadcast partner ESPN
on Wednesday that the fight will take place at UFC
281 on Nov. 12 at Madison Square Garden in New York. In
addition to that news, Chandler has signed a new, multi-fight deal
with the UFC. Poirier vs. Chandler will be contested over three
rounds, although Poirier reportedly wanted it to be a five-round
bout. Chandler, meanwhile, initially hoped for the matchup to take
place in December.
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Tensions are already high between the two
lightweights. Poirier and Chandler were involved in a
brief confrontation while attending UFC 276 at the T-Mobile
Arena in Vegas on July 2. While it’s unclear what started the
altercation, both men had to be separated by security while they
yelled obscenities and threats at one another.
Poirier hasn’t competed since UFC 269, when he suffered a
third-round submission loss to Charles
Oliveira in a 155-pound title bout this past December. That
snapped a three-bout winning streak for the American Top Team
representative, who was coming off triumphs over Conor
McGregor (twice) and Dan
Hooker.
Chandler, meanwhile, authored a leading “Knockout of the Year”
candidate with a spectacular front kick finish of Tony
Ferguson in his most recent outing at UFC 274. The former
Bellator lightweight king had previously fallen to Justin
Gaethje at UFC 268 in Sherdog’s “Fight of the Year” winner for
2021 and to Charles
Oliveira in a bid for the vacant 155-pound belt at UFC 262.
UFC 281 is headlined by a middleweight championship showdown
between Israel
Adesanya and Alex
Pereira, while Carla
Esparza will defend her strawweight crown against Weili
Zhang.