DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – [autotag]Michael Chandler[/autotag] sees the winner of [autotag]Dustin Poirier[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Conor McGregor[/autotag] 3 as the likely No. 1 contender to the lightweight championship he plans to win next month at UFC 262.
Chandler (22-5 MMA, 1-0 UFC) is scheduled to fight Charles Oliveira (30-8 MMA, 18-8 UFC) for the vacant 155-pound title in the main event on May 15 at Toyota Center in Houston. Less than two month later, Poirier and McGregor will clash in a trilogy bout in the UFC 264 headliner on July 10.
If Chandler manages to get his hand raised, he said he won’t be steadfast about his first title defense. However, given the lay of the land, it’s hard to deny Poirier (27-6 MMA, 19-5 UFC) or McGregor (22-5 MMA, 10-3 UFC) would be the guy.
“When I win the title on May 15, I’m not going to be the guy calling shots,” Chandler told MMA Junkie. “I’m going to be the champion and I hold the belt, but I’m not going to be the guy calling shots. You just look at the rankings and you look at the body of work of Dustin Poirier, he’s the obvious No. 1 guy right now. He chose to take the money fight and pass up on the opportunity to fight for the title, so if he does beat Conor, he’s the obvious No. 1 choice. But if Conor beats the No. 1 guy, plus how big of a name he is, plus the star power of himself, plus when Conor’s on and Conor’s chasing the title, there’s not a spectacle more exciting in sports.
“So, he goes out there and runs through Dustin, or even beats Dustin in a dominant fashion, I think that makes him the No. 1 contender. I’ll be holding the belt, and I’ll be there (cageside) in Vegas, excited to see who I’m going to fight probably later on this year or the first of next year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQo_1Cms_P0
Chandler said he’s not sure who will win the rubber match. However, it appears there’s more tension with “The Diamond.” Poirier said in the immediate aftermath of beating McGregor in their rematch last January that he was not interested in a bout with Chandler, and since there have been building pot shots between the two sides.
Poirier has accused Chandler of being a UFC “yes man” and said he’s fighting for “fool’s gold” at UFC 262. Chandler has responded in kind, and on Monday posted a video mocking his fellow contender lifted from the “8 Mile” movie (via Instagram):
https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2TJYBDfcb
Chandler hasn’t taken any shots at McGregor, however, and he said that’s for good reason.
“Conor has not said one negative thing about me,” Chandler said. “Conor hasn’t really said my name at all. Not that that is a good thing or a bad thing. Poirier has. That’s fine. He can have his opinion of me. ‘I haven’t earned it’ or he’d rather sell hot sauce than fight me for the title, or it’s ‘fool’s gold.’ It was more directed at him because he’s been the guy that’s said the most.
“He’s got a big fight ahead of him. He’s got the biggest fight of his life ahead of him. Finishing a trilogy with Conor McGregor is the biggest thing he’s got on his plate. But then again, I should be more worried about Charles Oliveira, I guess.”
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All of this talk is meaningless until Chandler beats Oliveira at UFC 259, he said. He’ll be in the driver’s seat if he claims the title, and that position is Chandler one has been chasing for years.
He spent many years as one of the faces of Bellator, only getting his talent measured up to the UFC’s best from the outside. Now that he’s here, Chandler said it’s important to maximize the platform. To him, that means training hard and putting his best foot forward with whatever time he has on this stage.
“It’s an interesting lightweight division,” Chandler said. “Full of characters, full of fighters, full of world-class athletes, and I’m excited to be a part of it. I’m excited to ruffle a little bit of feathers. I said when I came into this organization I didn’t want to just join the party. I wanted to kick down the door and come in and make myself known. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I’ve left no stone unturned here inside the gym, and that’s the most important thing.”